I bought my house in 2018. It was built in 1992 and has 2 sets of exterior lights, one set in the front yard and one in the back yard. Each set is controlled by a switch inside the house. Each switch is part of a box with 2 single-throw switches. The other switch in each box controls an interior light; both interior lights work fine. When the exterior lights worked, if the switch was thrown and it was past dusk, the exterior lights would be on. If the switch was not thrown OR it was light outside, the lights would not turn on.
One day, both front and back exterior lights would no longer turn on at dusk. No breaker flipped in the fuse box. Bulbs are fine. I've measured voltage across each switch at both boxes:
Front yard box
- exterior light switch: 0v when open/closed
- interior light switch: 12v, behaves as expected
Back yard box
- exterior light switch: 0v when open/closed
- interior light switch: 120v, behaves as expected
As you can see, both exterior light switches in 2 different boxes at completely opposite ends of the house have no voltage. I'm pretty handy but am not experienced with the various ways exterior lights can be wired and this one has me baffled. I'm hoping that someone one here who knows building conventions can help me figure out how this lighting circuit is configured. Some open questions I have are:
- Can both lights be on the same circuit even though voltage is 120 at the back switch and 12 at the front? Is it possible to step down the voltage after the breaker box?
- Could there be a separate, standalone light sensor that has gone bad? I've never noticed one around the exterior of the home nor seen any special switch or box in the garage.
- What are some places I can check in my garage and around the outside for exterior light sensors/boxes?
Thanks for reading
One day, both front and back exterior lights would no longer turn on at dusk. No breaker flipped in the fuse box. Bulbs are fine. I've measured voltage across each switch at both boxes:
Front yard box
- exterior light switch: 0v when open/closed
- interior light switch: 12v, behaves as expected
Back yard box
- exterior light switch: 0v when open/closed
- interior light switch: 120v, behaves as expected
As you can see, both exterior light switches in 2 different boxes at completely opposite ends of the house have no voltage. I'm pretty handy but am not experienced with the various ways exterior lights can be wired and this one has me baffled. I'm hoping that someone one here who knows building conventions can help me figure out how this lighting circuit is configured. Some open questions I have are:
- Can both lights be on the same circuit even though voltage is 120 at the back switch and 12 at the front? Is it possible to step down the voltage after the breaker box?
- Could there be a separate, standalone light sensor that has gone bad? I've never noticed one around the exterior of the home nor seen any special switch or box in the garage.
- What are some places I can check in my garage and around the outside for exterior light sensors/boxes?
Thanks for reading