Ok. Here is the situation. I have a transformer with 2 circuits coming off of it. The 12 volt tap goes to the backyard and the 13 volt tap is the front yard. All has worked fine for about 5 years. i noticed yesterday that all of the front yard lights are off. It recently rained a lot, in case that matters. I have done the following to try to figure out why: - checked voltage at the transformer from the tap to the common. Reads 13 volts. - went to the first light in the circuit and removed the wire nuts and checked voltage across. Reads a few millivolts. - disassembled the connections at this location (first light in the string) and checked across the wires coming from the transformer. Now reads 13 volts. - connected only that first light back to the wires coming from the transformer, leaving the downstream lights disconnected. The light did not come on and the connection only reads a few millivolts. When I disconnect that light the wires from the transformer go back up to 13 volts. - brought that light over to the transformer and held its wires to the 13 volt tap and common. The light comes on as normal. - went back to the first light location and reattached the downstream wires to the wires from the transformer, leaving the first light itself out of the connection. Voltage drops to a few millivolts and no lights on. - I switched the backyard circuit over to the 14 volt tap. Still no lights So, I’m stumped. Voltage comes from the transformer at proper voltage but when I connect anything to it, either just one light or the entire string, drops to a few millivolts and no light. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! T
My first impulse would be to verify the physical integrity of various connections. What types of fixtures are involved? Spots? Path? Well? Are these wire nut connections that have been buried underground for five years or are they protected by a hub?And how much water are we talking about when it rains? I’m wondering if wicking has occurred somewhere or if some fixture or hub was blasted with water or even submerged. Even though bulbs may be working, what do sockets and lead wires splices look like? I am probably more intimidated by voltage measurement than I should be so can’t offer much insight in that regard.
It’s all a daisy chain, no hub. They are all spots, too. I’ve had connections go bad over the years. It always causes all the downstream lights to go out. I replace the wire nuts and it works again. This time it’s the entire string so if it was a connection I would expect it was the first one in line. But as you can see above that wasn’t it.
I would suggest that you contact customer service for troubleshooting advice but my impression is that these aren’t VOLT products.
