Why Do Lights Stop Working?
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Our garage lights both worked fine, now they don’t work, what happened? Electrical Problems That May Cause Garage Lights to Stop Working. © By: Dave Rongey |
Garage Lights Not Working
Electrical Question: Our garage lights both worked fine, now they don’t work, what happened?
- We have the lights outside our garage doors, one on each side.
- One day they both worked, then we had our new garage doors installed, now they both garage lights don’t work.
- We have replaced the switch and have live feed to both light fixtures, up to where the bulb goes.
- We used a tester and there is power, however, the light still doesn’t turn on. We are not sure what else to try.
- We assume the assembly is good, since there is power to it when we put the volt meter where the bulb goes.
This electrical wiring question came from: Lydia, a Homeowner from Fredericksburg, VA.
Problems That May Cause Garage Lights Not to Work
Application: Troubleshooting a Garage Light Circuit.
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate. This electrical repair project is best performed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor or Certified Electrician.
Tools Required: Basic Hand Tools and Safe Non Conductive Step Ladder.
Estimated Time: Depends on personal experience, the light fixture and access to the light fixture.
Precaution: Identify the light fixture circuit, turn it OFF and Tag it with a Note before working with the wiring.
Notice: Repair parts for the light fixture circuit should be approved and compliant with local and national codes.
Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical wiring question Lydia.
Troubleshooting Garage Light Fixture Wiring
- It is stated in this question that the garage light fixture is getting power, so the problem is not with the switch.
- Be aware that when using a tester you need to check for both the hot and the neutral wires to see if 120 volts are present.
- It may be that the neutral wire of the circuit is not working. This problem may be the result of a loose neutral wire connection and the remedy may be to inspect and tighten up or remake the wire connections.
- It may be that the neutral wire of the circuit is not working. It is possible that when the new garage doors were installed that power for the door openers was provided from an existing source in the garage, which may have caused the outside lights to stop working.
- Another possibility is that if new hardware was installed for the garage doors that a screw or anchor may have penetrated a wire inside a wall and caused damage.
- Advise the garage door installer, and tell them that the outside lights have not worked ever since they installed the garage doors and have them check their work. If it was their problem, pass this information on to them and give them the opportunity to have the problem repaired.
More about Garage Electrical Wiring
Garage Wiring
Garage electrical wiring diagram and considerations for wiring garage circuits, complete with pictures. Careful planning for your garage with immediate and future equipment considerations will help you understand how to size your electrical circuits. This information will help as an garage electrical wiring guide.
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