yardlight

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Hi forum folks, we have what we believe to be a high pressure sodium (because it gives off a yellow light) yardlight that comes on at dusk. At night we have noticed that it shuts off about every half hour or so for a couple of minutes and then comes back on. Do we have a big problem here or just minor? The light is quite high up the pole so, not easy to get to. Thank You in advance for any ideas. We have no money for a service person to come out and have a look at it. Our only options are help here or shut it off completely.

-- BenBen (11022033@canada.com), November 29, 2001

Answers

Sounds like it could be a defective photo-electic eye,(the part that turns it on and off automatically depending on the amount of light). My neighbor had a similar problem and that was his problem. After he replaced the eye it worked as it was supposed to. I know this may not help you out if the light is high up, but it is possibly the cause.

Do you know anybody who works for power company, phone company, or tree trimmers who may have climbing spikes and would do the job on the side for a reasonable amount of money or a barter?

Another possibility. Is the light owned by you or the power company? If they own it they must maintain it.

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.


could also be the socket overheating and turning off till it cools down enough to come back on

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 29, 2001.

Might also check and make sure all the connections are tight. We have so much wind here that we have to check ours every few months because it works loose. Denise

-- Denise K. (Rabbitmom2@webbworks.com), November 29, 2001.

it could be the ballast overheating and shutting down to cool, it's fairly common in those. You could try a new bulb. If all the other suggestions check out it may be voltage sags. HID lamps are pretty sensitive and will shut down on voltage drops. It then takes the ballast a few minutes to start back up. This could be your power company or something at your location. Take notice if you have a well pump, heater, etc that switches on the same time the hps goes out. You can buy an AC meter fairly cheap to monitor your line voltage.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 29, 2001.

forgot to mention- it's not a big problem or hazardous.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 29, 2001.


All the on/off cycles will shorten the life of that not cheap bulb!

-- Jim-mi (hartalteng@voyager.net), November 29, 2001.

I have enjoyed everyones replies, unfortunately none are correct. It is NOT the ballast, socket, or elecric eye (photcell). It is the bulb. They last 3 - 5 years and cost ~18.00

-- Mark (toymeister@hotmail.com), November 29, 2001.

awfully sure of yourself there Mark. Yeah, I'd start with the bulb just as a matter of practice since it's the end of the line. But it *could* be the ballast, they do go bad on occasion and the effect is as BenBen described. Photocells go bad on occasion also. Voltage sag or spikes affecting hps or metal halide lamps is quite common also and the effect is just as he described. Especially in rural areas or farms with older wiring where line voltage tends to be less stable. It's safe to say it could be any one of the above suggestions.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 29, 2001.

Do you really need a light to come on at dusk? Wouldn't it be nice to have one that is switch controlled so that you might choose to turn it off sometime? We let ours burn out and didn't replace it. Declined the neighbors offer to replace it too. We prefer less light pollution. However we do have some great lights out there. There is a switch that controls them both upstairs and downstairs. Very handy and still we can study the stars. It also saves money. Our electric company bills for each special pole mounted light by the month as well as for the electric to run it.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), November 29, 2001.

Are you sure you want it on? It is so nice to be able to see the stars at night. We used to live next to a guy who have one of those irritatingly bright lights. We had to walk to the other side of our 33 acres to see the stars. Thank God that thing finally burned out!!!

-- buffy (buffyannjones@hotmail.com), November 30, 2001.


We used to have a light like that when we first moved here. It was mounted on a tall, skinny pine tree and was quite high up there. God was kind enough to knock the whole tree down, not hitting anything that couldn't be fixed, and allowing us to see the night sky from our side porch. Much better lighting, if you ask me!!

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), November 30, 2001.

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