Post light won't shut off after changing bulb


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Old 12-28-13, 05:55 AM
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Post light won't shut off after changing bulb

We have a post light out in front of our house. I turned off the light at the breaker to replace the bulb and when I turned it back on the bulb came on and now it won't turn off. I had just replaced the photo cell in August. Could it be bad again already? it was working fine before the bulb went out.

Just some additional information. It had an incandescent bulb in it before. We had a lot of snow within a weeks time. That is when the bulb went out. I replaced it with a CFL.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 06:03 AM
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Just some additional information. It had an incandescent bulb in it before. We had a lot of snow within a weeks time. That is when the bulb went out. I replaced it with a CFL.
Was it a 3-wire or 2-wire photocell? A 2-wire photocell may not work correctly with a CFL. Try an incandescent bulb.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 06:10 AM
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Old 12-28-13, 06:33 AM
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The only other bulb I have on hand is a halogen. Would that work with a photo cell?
 
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Old 12-28-13, 06:53 AM
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CFL's and photocells don't play nicely with each other. There needs to be a positive load for the photocell to react properly, and the CFL doesn't give that. I would go with a 130 volt high abuse light bulb, like used in auto repair shops. Slightly less light output in lumens, but much longer life.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 08:35 AM
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A halogen is an incandescent bulb so you can try it.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 09:48 AM
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I switched the bulb but the light is still on.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 10:24 AM
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Changing out the photocell is next.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 11:03 AM
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Any recommendations so I don't have to replace it so soon again? All of the reviews for ones I find online are pretty bad.
 
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Old 12-28-13, 11:18 AM
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Check the price tag. You get what you pay for.
I would bypass Home Depot, etc. and go to an electrical distributor for a better quality photocell.
However I do not know which distributors are big in the US. (Graybar?)
 
 

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