PIR from B&Q

[Bobo]

Hi,

Bought my mum a new light for her front door with motion sensor.

Got it wired and attached no problem...big switch on and...................nothing ?

It was going dark when I turned the power on so I'm thinking it needs to be on during daylight then it will magically come on when it starts going darker ? Does the PIR need time to charge itself ?

I've tried 3 different bulbs and no joy. I'm gonna nip down later when it gets darker outside to see.

Last night I checked that the fitting was receiving power so I'm puzzled why it didn't come on ? I heard the PIR ' click ' when switch turned on but no light ?

There are 4 live terminals in terminal block :

1) Main supply going into terminal block 2) then Live going out of terminal block into PIR sensor 3) then Live leaving PIR sensor to re-enter terminal block 4) then Live finally leaving terminal block to the bulb.

All 4 are receiving power so I'm stumped ? Could it be a faulty fitting ?

Inside the house there is a switch which as you'd expect when ' on ' makes all the 4 lives ' live ' and when the switch is ' off ' all the 4 lives receive no power at all. But when in use the switch would always be left to the ' on ' position all the time to allow a permanent live supply.

Any ideas ?

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Erm! did you set the sensitivity potentiometer on it, if this has one?

[Bobo]

It has 2 adjustable settings :

1) Time - light stays on 3.5 sec to max 6 sec

2) Distance - detection from close or long range

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Then the distance setting needs to be about halfway?

passing your hand over the sensor will or should trigger it if its not too high. ;-)

If it don't trigger then its faulty.

[Bookworm]

Some of these need a special switching proceedure to activate. To turn mine on you have to switch on, wait 6 secs, switch off then switch on again, (or something like that). If you want mine on permanently you just switch on switch off straight away and on again.

Why not check the instructions again?

[Bobo]

Yes, I tried that and nothing. Thinking about returning to the store tomorrow.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Give it till dark before you decide to as it just might have an LDR circuitry built in ie the LDR is a Light Dependant Resistor whereby it could be keeping the circuitry open(off) till dusk falls(on)

[Graham.]

In addition to the above, can we take it that you have wired a Neutral to the appropriate terminal? (not to mention an Earth).

[Gel]

On 1 I fitted recently there was a tiny sticker covering the PIR lens; have you peeled it off?

If it has no walktest switch, cover sensor with something to block out most light eg thick cloth/towel, and wiggle your hand under it to trigger; you should hear a slight click if its working.

If lamp is ES type, is it screwed right down?

. wrote:

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You're sure the bulbs you've tried are within the rated loading - not too small, for example, and not low energy types unless it specifically says they will work?

[Bobo]

them again yesterday during daylight and all 4 live terminals were ' live ' during the daylight so I'm thinking there must something wrong with the light itself.

The instructions were not particularly exhaustive and there is nothing mentioned whatsoever about an initial setup startup procedure ? So no fancy switch off for a bit then turn back on and stand on one leg...etc..etc

[Bobo]

It uses a 60W candlelight bulb. It is an ES type whatever that means. I tried srewing it in tight and tried it not so tight but again nothing. I'm getting tired of this bloomin thing now. Think I'll get it swapped for another and try again.

[Bobo]

Of course there is a neutral and an earth. The wiring is sound. No loose connections.

[Andy Wade]

The sticker usually covers the daylight sensor, not the PIR. Its there so you can test the thing and set the PIR controls in daylight, without the need for a walk-test switch. Remove the sticker after testing!

Some types use triac (electronic) switching, so no relay click. In this case though the OP mentioned hearing a click, so I suspect the problem lies between the output of the PIR switch and the lamp ...

... yep, that sort of thing, or a broken L or N connection to the lamp holder?

[Gel]

"ES" stands for Edison Screw by the way; Thomas Edison and all that.

Andy Wade wrote:

[Bobo]

YIPPEE !!! After all that it was a faulty light. I went to B&Q and swapped it for another and hey bloody presto LET THERE BE LIGHT !!

Thanks for all replies. Hope I can return favour sometime. Cheers.