I have one of those Mercury Vapor yard lights. Normally when the bulb burns out it starts getting dim and tends to go one and off. This time it just stopped working. I went up and replaced the bulb and noticed the socket had some black staining on it. The fixture should not be leaking water. Of course anything is possible. I am considering that dust and stuff combined with moisture could cause this too, however I do not recall seeing this in the past.
With the new bulb, it still does not work. This makes me wonder if it's the sensor or could the ballast have gone bad and that's the black stain? I realize no one can answer this for sure, but has anyone ever seen a ballast die, and does it leave a stain on the socket? I suppose I got to take the whole fixture down, and working on poles is not my idea of fun....
Thanks