[DanDaMan]

Well, we actually owned the house now for 10 years but on the side of the house we have a side entry door which has 2 outside scone lights. They never worked from the day we moved in. I removed the fixture and with power tester confirmed no power. I turned ever light switch in the house on to see if it maybe was tied to these outside lights but no luck.

Is there any easy way to trace the wire to try and find where it is being fed from and what switch is supposed to control it?

Thanks

 

[daveb1]

Sometimes outdoor lights are on a GFI circuit. Are there any GFI breaker's on your panel? Or perhaps a trippd GFI receptacle perhaps in the garage or basement? Or the ever popular receptacle on an outside wall hiding behind a bush?

 

[joed]

Are there any other lights with sensors? They could be tied together and no switch. The sensor could be bad.
Are there any switches that don't seem to do anything?

 

[Old Thomas]

Did you get construction drawings showing the electrical layout?

 

[DanDaMan]

a few updates to some replies - no drawings available. I checked all gfi plugs and confirmed none are tripped and confirmed all breakers on the panel are on. I have no other motion sensor lights other than the one I mentioned.

As for any mystery switches, yes. The side door (where these lights are) are actually access to a suite and inside the suite there is a mystery switch on the wall when you first enter - there are also two mystery switches in the kitchen near the sink on the wall (I think one would be if I wanted a garberator but not sure what the other is). Though the kitchen ones would not be for the light, but yes the switch at the entry would make sense. I have confirmed the switch is wired up to the switch but it doesnot control the lights outside and can't really tell what it does control.

Any other suggestions on how to trace a wire to its source? I'm at the point of considering to tie into the motion sensor power and then extend a wire along the exterior wall to these 2 other lights - I assume it would need to be metal enclosure type and would look ugly but I can't break up the wall inside as it is finished.

 

[rjniles]

Did you remove both sconces to see if there is a bad connection at either? At the switch outside the door, did you test for power and verify the switch works? Use a meter and not a non contact tester.

Sent from my RCT6A03W13E using Tapatalk

 

[Bud9051]

There are testers that you can connect to a wire in one of those lights (all power off) and scan the walls to see where the wire goes. Check your rental businesses, maybe. The electrical pros here should know cost to buy.

Can you access above or below these lights to see any wires? Wiring usually doesn't travel far horizontally. Mostly goes up or down, then across.

Pictures would help us.

Also, the mystery switch close to the lights, does it have power and what color wires in there? Is it a single pole switch or 3-way?

As for other mystery switches check for a 3-way. I have now and have wired my homes in the past with a 3-way setup so in the middle of the night I can turn on a light in another area, or turn off same.

Bud

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Well, we actually owned the house now for 10 years but on the side of the house we have a side entry door which has 2 outside scone lights. They never worked from the day we moved in. I removed the fixture and with power tester confirmed no power. I turned ever light switch in the house on to see if it maybe was tied to these outside lights but no luck.

Is there any easy way to trace the wire to try and find where it is being fed from and what switch is supposed to control it?

Thanks

There is a tracing tool called Fox and Hound, that is pretty darn good.

I've never seen if they are rentable....but they cost 100-150 as I recall.

Sometimes, you can do some tracing by just using your continuity tester on your MM.

Shut down all your circuits/main, and with a long 18 guage lamp wire (I use) start testing continuitys at different likely locations. Sometimes I will actually test both neutral and hot all the way back to the main....you have to test both hot/neutral as you may have a broken circuit involved.

Test your lights to your switches...it's like a puzzel to figure out what is occuring.

 

[RAL238]

The Fluke Pro 3000 probe and tone generator does a pretty good job in tracing wires. It takes a bit of practice to get good at it, and understanding the best way to connect the generator. There are cheaper alternatives out there, but many don't work as well. You tend to get what you pay for.


When using the tone generator, it's important to turn off the breaker (the main if you aren't sure which circuit it's on). Also, having any loads or shorts on the circuit can make tracing more difficult or impossible. Start by connecting the generator to the hot and ground wires and see what you can trace.

 

[DanDaMan]

so I have an update and a further question. Got an electrician over the trace the outdoor lights. He used a toner/tracer and we couldn't find the source either. He did confirm that both lights have only one set of wires (one black, one white), so they must be tied to a junction box but we couldn't find it. He also confirmed the 2 lights are connected together.

Since he couldn't find the source, he recommended that we use the motion sensor light about 20' away and put 1/2 metal conduit from it to the 2 lights and feed them that way - he said to also disconnect the old wires and cap them, as it could back feed if one day the switch/junction box is found and turned on.

So my question. If I do this myself, how would the metal conduit connect to the new source (the motion light)? What is the normal way to attach the 1/2" metal conduit to the exterior wall - I have wood paneling which overlaps, so I have a 1" gap every 12" inches - I will put it under this gap but what type of clip do I use to attach the conduit? Lastly, how would I get the conduit into these 2 fixtures - I removed both fixtures but it appears as the junction doesn't stick out far enough to get the conduit flush into it - could I drill a 1/2" hole through the fixture base? And if I do drill a 1/2 hole (either into the junction or fixture), is there some type of attachment I need to make it water tight or permanently connected. Thanks