Tighten Pool Light W/o Getting Shocked

[Seahunt]

My pool light works occasionally. Someone mentioned it may be a loose bulb. I have a 22gal in-ground plaster pool. Do you just unscrew the cover and tighten it like a normal light bulb. Don't want to get shocked

Thanks.

[Pool Clown]

Yep, just like a normal light socket, because it is!

[quantumchromodynamics]

The light is a sealed unit. It fits into a niche. It is held in the niche by one or more screws.

You have to remove the screw that holds the sealed unit in the niche and bring the unit onto the deck.

The sealed light fixture will have a power cord wrapped around it. The power cord should be long enough to bring the fixture up to the deck.

Once you have the light on the deck, you can open the unit and inspect the bulb.

Intermittent operation is usually the result of overheating. The light contains a thermal safety switch that turns the light off if it begins to overheat.

Sometimes you can change to a lower wattage bulb that will operate with less heat. However, most of the time the light will have to be replaced.

Can you be more specific about what you mean by works occasionally? Does it turn on for a while, then turn off, and then turn on again?

You should replace the rubber seal when you reseal the unit.

[Seahunt]

I would say one out of 10 times that I turn the light on, it actually works. Thanks.

The light is a sealed unit. It fits into a niche. It is held in the niche by one or more screws.

You have to remove the screw that holds the sealed unit in the niche and bring the unit onto the deck.

The sealed light fixture will have a power cord wrapped around it. The power cord should be long enough to bring the fixture up to the deck.

Once you have the light on the deck, you can open the unit and inspect the bulb.

Intermittent operation is usually the result of overheating. The light contains a thermal safety switch that turns the light off if it begins to overheat.

Sometimes you can change to a lower wattage bulb that will operate with less heat. However, most of the time the light will have to be replaced.

Can you be more specific about what you mean by works occasionally? Does it turn on for a while, then turn off, and then turn on again?

You should replace the rubber seal when you reseal the unit.

[Pool Clown]

If you're going to go to the trouble of opening the light, you should change the bulb (and gasket) in case it is something inside the bulb that tightening won't fix.

[quantumchromodynamics]

Before opening the light, test the gfi to see if it works. Then check the switch. If those are OK, open the light junction box and test for power from the house and continuity to the light.

[AFiremanFirst]

Yes! pulling the light is a last resort. If the gfci is tripped you have water in your light! If not it's likely a bulb. However in your scenario sounds like a bad ground! Start at the switch, then the junction box behind the light. I bet you find corrosion somewhere! is it a salt pool. If so your odds just went up! I doubt it's the thermal switch. I'm leaning toward a power problem. Could be a faulty switch. Careful playing with hot electricity, unfortunately you don't have much choice. Use a klein rubber insulated screw driver, no regular screw drivers, they are conductive all the way through the plastic handle. personal experience!

[Pool Clown]

Yes! pulling the light is a last resort. If the gfci is tripped you have water in your light! If not it's likely a bulb. However in your scenario sounds like a bad ground! Start at the switch, then the junction box behind the light. I bet you find corrosion somewhere! is it a salt pool. If so your odds just went up! I doubt it's the thermal switch. I'm leaning toward a power problem. Could be a faulty switch. Careful playing with hot electricity, unfortunately you don't have much choice. Use a klein rubber insulated screw driver, no regular screw drivers, they are conductive all the way through the plastic handle. personal experience!

Wow, i guess i'm just lazy. Seems a lot easier to just change the bulb than to go thru all that. If the bulb don't fix it, then maybe go thru that.

[Seahunt]

Ya know, I'm wondering....when they were building my pool, 8 years ago, the deck guy was grading with a small bob cat. I heard him grousing about something and looked out and it looked like he had nicked the conduit or wires (black looking chords) that go to the light. He proceeded to fix it with duct tape. He was murmuring about "why don't these guys mark this stuff or bury it better." My pool was built by a bunch of independent contractors. At the time I didn't think much about it. However, with age I have started to realize how things like that can come back to bite you. Do you think this is related?

Before opening the light, test the gfi to see if it works. Then check the switch. If those are OK, open the light junction box and test for power from the house and continuity to the light.

[Pool Clown]

Nicked or broken? If it was just nicked, you may be able to pull a new light fixture cord thru there. If you were able to see the cord and then he duck taped the heck out of it, it may be hard if not impossible to pull a new cord thru. Usually when something like that happens, the pool will leak. Did you have a leak when they finished the pool? If they fixed the leak by patching the inside of the light niche, you will have to dig that out to pull the light cord then replace once the new light is in otherwise it will begin to leak again.

[simple]

If the electricians did the job correctly then the conduit inside the light niche is siliconed, and there wouldn't be a leak. If there IS silicone, keep this in mind if you are pulling a new light (because you will have to remove the silicone) and use the old to pull the new, you might need the #8 (stranded) green bond wire as well because leaving the bond wire and trying to pull and repull just the light cord is tough! FYI bead the ground screw inside the niche with silicone after it is rebonded.

[Pool Clown]

If the electrician did it correctly (made the conduit water tight), he wouldn't need to silicone it!

I pull new light fixtures all the time with the #8 intact. You can't (in my area) replace the bonding wire because the connection is "potted" to the niche (code) and you would need to drain the pool to re-pot, Thats providing you can get the old potting off (nasty black stuff).

If you are having trouble with that 8 wire, you can pull it out at the light niche end and attach with the new light cord and pull the whole thing thru.