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View Full Version : One lamp stays on


jlackos
Jun 4, 2009, 06:55 AM
I bought a pair of motion lamps. Outside door. Used to work fine. Now one will not go out, and stays on. They are hooked up to a inside wall switch. Any suggestions. How can I get that one lamp to go off?

Stratmando
Jun 4, 2009, 07:20 AM
If power comes from the switch and switch does not turn off.
Switch is bad, or wire from light is touching a constant hot.
Sometimes when motions fail, they stay on, could be your case, and 1 bulb is out.
But since powered from a switch, can't be that.

jcaron2
Jun 4, 2009, 07:28 AM
Many motion lamps have a manual mode so they work just like a regular lamp (always on whenever the switch is on). In the simplest case, they have a toggle switch somewhere on the lamp, itself, which switches between the two modes. That's probably not what you have or you would have found it already. Plus, it seems unlikely that someone would accidentally toggle that switch. :-)

I have a pair of motion lights by my front door that switch between the modes by turning the light switch off for about one second, then back on again. Off times much longer or shorter than that don't toggle the mode. There might have even been some other mode by turning the switch on and off twice in a row. I don't remember. Luckily, I kept the instructions. :-)

Other lights might have other ways of being toggled. If you can somehow figure out (or remember) the manufacturer, you might be able to find the instructions on their website.

Stratmando
Jun 4, 2009, 07:35 AM
On/Off/On to make automatic or manual, wouldn't be the problem, or turning switch off, would turn off the light.

ballengerb1
Jun 4, 2009, 08:00 AM
Are you saying you can't turn the one light off even with the wall switch or is it just a motion issue? If one switch controls both lamps and you can't turn one off you have wired them wrong.