Pool light not working

Pool lights and spa lights are just like light bulbs in your house and can go out over time. Older pool lights have an actual bulb in them that can be replaced, but those lights are 120 volt and can be troublesome. Most pool lights are designed so that the light and the cord are all one piece so if your light goes out, you have to replace the entire light, but before you purchase a new light and post someone to install it for you, try these steps:

• make sure that the power is on and that any GFCI outlet connected to the light or the pool equipment is working and not tripped. This also goes for breakers that may not look like they are tripped but are.

• If the light is getting power, and it is still not working, you may need to replace the light, but the great thing is that most pool lights are designed to be replaced without draining the pool.

• First step to replace a light…make sure the power is off and test it using a multimeter to be 100% sure you are not working in live wires.

• If you are dealing with a light that is 120 volts, you should have a certified professional replace the light to make sure it is done properly. On that note, please make sure you are getting the proper voltage light (there are 120 volt lights and 12 volt lights. Hooking a 12 volt light up to 120 volt power will immediately break the light and you will have wasted hundreds of dollars.

• Once you know the proper voltage, and have the correct light, and the power is off, now you can get to the replacement steps.

• You will need a Phillips screwdriver if the light is 6” or larger in size to remove the single screw the holds the light into the shell of the pool. You will also need tools to expose where the pool light wire comes into the power source at the pool equipment, electrical tape, pull string, wire cutters, wire lube and wire strippers and possibly gloves.

• When replacing lights, it is always best if you have two people doing the work. One person at the pool equipment side and one person at the pool side.

• Disconnect the light from inside the pool and also disconnect where the light connects to power near the pool equipment.

• Connect the pull wire to the end of the light wire near the pool equipment and make sure that you have a good connection and it is taped up really well.

• Once you have the pull wire connected to the old light wire, have the person at the pool start pulling out the old light while the person at the pool equipment feeds the pull wire to make sure it does not get tangled.

• Once the old light wire has been pulled out and you have about 6 feet of the pull wire coming out of the light niche, you can cut the pull wire right where you connected it to the old light wire.

• Now, you will need to unroll the new light wire. This will help to minimize the wire from getting linked or twisted causing more friction when trying to pull the new light in.

• Once the new light wire is unrolled, go ahead and measure how long the old light wire was so you can make sure you have enough wire on the new light to reach. The simple trick that we use is to measure how many are lengths the old light wire is, and then measure the new light wire and add 1 extra arm length just to make sure we have enough.

• Now that you know the length that’s needed for the new light wire, measure that distance starting at the new light and going down the cord and then cut the cord 1 extra arm length past where you need to just to be sure.

• Now, connect the end of the new light wire to the pull wire that you pulled through earlier at the pool side.

• Lube up the wire with wire lube (wax based is best) and then have one person start pulling the pull line back through from the pool equipment side while the person at the pool side is feeding the light wire at the same time. This makes the process go much easier.

• Pull the light wire all the way until there is only enough slack to allow the pool light (if it is 6” or bigger), to sit in the edge of the pool without being tight, if the pool light is the smaller 1.5” lights, these you usually have to pull all the slack out and make sure the light is seated all the way into the light niche without any slack.

• Once you have the light pulled in, reattach the light to the shell of the pool like it was before and then rewire the light at the pool equipment like it was before.

• The nice you have everything wired in, test to make sure the new light is working before closing everything back up.

If you need any help with pool light replacement, please give 911 Pool Care a call and we would love to come out and help.