Questions and Answers for Defiant 500-Watt 7/16 in. Mini Button Outdoor Dusk to Dawn Light Control, Black

A:  Mine were approx 6 inches.

A:  5 7/8 inches.

A:  About 4 inch

A:  3 to 4 inches

A:  If I remember right, they about 4 inches long. They don't need to be any longer. I actual cut mine.

A:  Not motion

A:  Yes. They're 2 separate functions. Put them in series with the d to d first (and for on at night) will let the motion detector work at night.

A:  Yes. Just wire it on the line side of your light fixture... meaning add the photo cell in between your power source and your light fixture

A:  Yes it should. Make sure you wire it before the motion sensor . Another method you could use is a wifi smart switch would give you more control but much more expensive.

A:  No motion detect, only dusk-dawn.

A:  Sealed, photovoltaic light sensor. Probably no dirty internal contacts and not very serviceable. Maybe a bad internal?? connection (check all external ones).

A:  Had one of my lights reflecting off of a white gutter and causing the same problem. I turned the lights away from the gutter and everything was fine after that. If turning the lights in another direction is not feasible then the fixture would need to be turned so the photo cell is not picking up that reflection.

A:  Replace

A:  Generally they fail after a few years of use as they are exposed to all elements of weather and sun.

A:  You could try cleaning the "glass eye", but sounds as if the switch might be sticking, and may have to be replaced. If less than a year old, you should be able to exchange it at HomeDepot for a new one, I would think.

A:  Open up the box it's mounted in and check the connections. I suspect a wire nut has come loose and is maybe shorting . It's also possible that the interior components might have a short from a bad solder ,corrosion it's also possible it's melted inside from too much draw . Having 6 lights on the circuit might be over the 500 watt limit of the product. . If it's not a wire nut coming apart just replace it they are cheap match the new one to the size of your circuit. 6 bulbs @ ? Watts = circuit draw. Maybe Chang the bulbs to LED bulbs which have a lower draw. I've repaired them internally in the field but don't recommend this unless your qualified with the methods required for repair.

A:  In my experience it's probably best to replace the sensor. Blowing it out with compressed air might make it work, but I've found that if it's acting up like that, then it will fail sometime shortly thereafter.

A:  Check the wiring contact for lose connection.

A:  I had similar issue when installing. Lights on in bright daylight. But after a few minutes, they turned off. Appears to be the delay function. It kills false switching due to light fluctuations due to car headlights, etc.

A:  The 110Volt power source must be connected to the sensor (black wire from power source to one side of the sensor and the second wire on the sensor to the lights black wire). The power source common wire is the only wire that goes to the light directly. Once installed, it may take the light up to fifteen second to come on when it get dark. In essence, the light sensor is acting like a light switch.

A:  Check your wiring , back to Line( circuit ), red to load (bulb, )white to circuit neutral plus the remaining lamp leg. Make sure the sensor is not always in a dark spot. There is about a 30 second delay when the switch is opened to getting power to the light .

A:  There is 2 minute delay inherent in the switch. I installed this product in the base of outdoor light and turned the wall switch to ON to test. I then turned the wall switch to off and it responded by staying on - for the 2 minutes that was stated in the instructions. Is it possible that you wired the photo cell incorrectly?

A:  Bad photo cell.... photo cells generally fail in the on position

A:  That would be correct. Wait 2 minutes and it should turn off once that switch is turned on.

A:  The power switch should always be on

A:  It's possible your Control is shadowed making this switch the power on before the sun sets. If it is turning on it is working properly. This works by a photo sensor not by time.

A:  Yes It does.

A:  It will work with anything that is connected to a 120 volt AC power source if it is under 500 watts (optimal-400 watts)

A:  No, 120 volt AC only

A:  This is an AC controller. It will work with LED but only thru AC current. See pictures for specs and applications. Will not work with 12V/24V low voltage lighting.

A:  it's designed for 110v circuits. They sell others designed for 12v.

A:  It is a switch with time delay from 30 to 100 seconds. so, be patient and wait to see the function. I tested it and it works fine..During day time it will turn ON immediately after you turn switch ON, and it will turn OFF in about 30 seconds. If you cover the sensor lens with a black electrical tape, it will turn ON in about 30 seconds.

A:  If it were me I would disconnect everything and then re wire. Make sure the black wire (line) is connected to only the line coming from the circuit. Then make sure the Red (load ) is connected one of the lamp wires. The Neutral (white) will be hooked up to the white wire from the photo cell and the remaining leg of the lamp. Make sure the circuit is grounded and the lamp if applicable. Also make sure you are not overloading the circuit of the photocell limits say it will only control one bulb, i have used this many times with two staying under the max watt limits.,which they have been in service for years without failure exposed to non protected elements. If your problem still is existing , return it for another as I have seen a small failure rate in this product., Here is picture or a new unit disassembled very simplistic switch

A:  This sensor works just fine on Halogens. Did you reverse wire it? black goes to hot line, red goes to the lamps black or hot lead, white connects to house neutral and lamp white. I duplicated 2 melt downs like you stated. One I wired the sensor reversed red to house hot, black to lamp hot, white to neutral. The sensor melted in 7 mins. I also wired the sensor in series with a 500 watt halogen it melted. I wired another sensor properly as stated above at top, no problems in 5 nights of on off. Hope this helps.

A:  As I remember, the halogen bulbs burn extremely hot!!! I would guess the high heat was the problem, and not necessarily the wattage.

A:  Somehow I must have missed "the new math" says 500 watts +15 amperes 120 volt ac. Even ignoring PF and line variance.for voltage, HOW does only 500 watts (power) come from 120 volts and 15 amps? I know this not a direct answer to your question. More likely the unit was placed too closely to the halogen lamp, and the heat from the halogen caused the damage. There is a reason halogen fixtures are not made from low temp. rated plastics. Transistors also hate heat. Good practice has the sensor located away from any artificial light as this may trip said device.

A:  Halogen create a lot of heat that travel on the wires.. the photocell can not be anywhere near the light in that case.

A:  It is rated for 500 watts, and you used it to the maximum, which is not recommended. In electrical and electronics industry, it is a good practice NOT to use more than 80% of the rated energy, which is a ma of 400 watts for this sensor. It is to protect it from surge voltage

A:  Should inherently be weatherproof. Installed one on a condo clubhouse (in an outdoor electrical box) several years ago and have had no problems.

A:  Use the included rubber washer under the mounting nut. I've installed many of these just using the washer which have been in service for several,years without failure.

A:  It is weather proof.

A:  Mine came with a seal that i installed