Haunted Lamp Post Problem Solved !

Have you ever fixed things that were not really broken ?

Have you ever replaced lamp sockets and light sensors that were really good ?

My lamp post at the street was turning on and off ant irregular intervals so I did the following .

Replaced the bulb thinking it could be a loose filament.

Replaced the light sensor that turns the lamp on at dusk and off in the morning.

Replaced the socket thinking that perhaps the rivets had corroded and were making and breaking the circuit.

Each time I made the replacement, I took our Halloween Decoration ( a large pumpkin that fits over the entire light housing.

Tonight I had replaced the socket and I left the pumpkin off and the light came on and continued to shine.

I decided it was fixed; so, I put the three foot tall plastic pumpkin over it and in a little while the lamp went off .

What the real problem turned out to be was that the large pumpkin comes down over the sensor; the light is reflected inside the pumpkin and the sensor thinks it is morning so the light goes out.

Once the light goes out, the sensor knows it should turn the light ON so it does.

This cycle repeats as long as the ornamental pumpkin is covering the sensor.

For some reason, that same pumpkin on the same lamp stayed lit all night.

The good news is that I can take that lamp apart and put it back together in a jiffy !

George in Florida

Reply to
barbarow
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Check for an itty-bitty slider switch on the lamp somewhere. My automagic outside lights have a switch with run, test, and 'always on' positions.

aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

That's fine and dandy but you didn't mention the pumpkin in your original posts.

Reply to
Meat Plow

I recall 9 or 10 previuos postings on this 'problem'. None of which mentioned a pumpkin. What a waste of time and effort. Reminds one of Sgt. Friday ...... "The facts Ma'am. Just the facts". But it just demonstrates how seemingly factual information can be slanted according to someones opinion? It's rather like saying is your power back on now? When it was never off!

Reply to
terry

There was no pumpkin. Until midnight.

Reply to
HeyBub

I guess you and I are the only ones.

-snip long tale of woe -

One of the advantages of getting older and moving slower is that I have loads of time to look at a problem from several 'angles' before I dive in to try to fix it. I may or may not have noticed the pumpkin problem these days-- 20 yrs ago I'd have been right there with you fixing the unbroken.

Now I always check cords, switches and bulbs at least twice before getting any tools out.

-snip-

And you'll be more cautious in the future when a job might be bigger or more expensive. Life is a wonderful teacher.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

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