Another question for Evan: My Volt motion sensor activates an All Star downlight that I have partially hidden behind one of my downspouts. Half of the lead wire to the light runs up behind the downspout, the other half is buried in the clay soil along the edge of my slab. When replacing the sensor that was fried by a recent lightning strike I noticed what appears to be a black oxide coating on the freshly stripped lead wire to the light as I prepared it for connection to the sensor output wire. Thinking there might have been water intrusion into the original Pro-Nano junction connectors, I trimmed back an additional 6 inches of lead and still found the black coating on the bare wire. The sensor and light work fine, for the moment, but I was wondering if I will eventually need to replace the buried section of lead wire with direct burial cable.
Hey Bob, I'd agree that this looks like oxidization from some moisture wicking into the wire. The natural heating/cooling from operation can create a vacuum that pulls in moisture. Its tough to say if the moisture was pulled in via the connector or through a splice in the jacket of the cable, especially given we're not entirely certain what all the lightning strike might've affected. As long as you re-established a secure termination/wire connection (which, re-using a nano connector will help reinforce) and there is no other visible damage to wire or fixtures, the run should continue to work as it is now.
Not working so well after all. The light only stayed on for 2 seconds and only had 9 volts at the light bulb. Six feet of lead wire was buried along the slab, oxide had penetrated the initial 4 feet. Replaced all 6 with direct burial cable. Working normally again. Life is good.
