I'm having some trouble getting all the lights in my new setup to illuminate and wondering if I should connect up the 15 volt leads from my transformer. On first glance the total run length (100 feet) seems short enough that 12 volts oughta work, but I'm no expert. I've bought everything from Volt exceptfor a 300W transformer which I had running previously on a halogen system with more wattage than I need now. I'm using 14/2 cable and the 12 volt leads. I have 8 lights attached - Two G3 Fat Boys with MR16 5W 2700° bulbs, followed by six 12" Stem Path lights with G4 BiPin 3W 2700° bulbs. That's 28W total. The first three fixtures light up (the two Fat Boys and the first Path Light) but the remaining five Path lights are dark. But I can feel that the cables are warm all the way to the end of the run, so I think my connections are all good (I've used Drycon connectors). I've haven't used a voltmeter to check anything, but I wasn't expecting difficulty. I have checked that the bulbs are all properly seated. I'm nervous about connecting up the 15 volt leads. Should I be? But in any event, would 15 volts be necessary with this sort of simple setup? Many thanks!
No reason to be nervous about using the 15V tap. Based on the scenario you described, that’s what I would recommend trying first. If that doesn’t fix the problem (or only helps somewhat), I would go up to 12 gauge cable. I would be surprised if that doesn’t address the problem but the other thing I would try is creating a separate run for the dimmer lights. HTH
