Help with Outside Garage Lighting

[afjes_2016]

We were using the red just for identification of the same cable. AS it hasn't showed up in the garage that cable could be going anywhere.

Ah, understand now where you are coming from.

Three things then.
#1-Is there a junction box somewhere then;attic, garage, basement etc?
#2-The switch box. All the pics i have seen are hard to trace the wires from switch to switch and to wire nut etc.
#3-Tripped GFCI somewhere.

 

[Afrowookie]

afjes_2016

For the lights I kinda figured they were daisy chained. I checked the light with the 2 wires and no power to either. I did check the other light too just to be sure. Also no power.

As for the access in the garage attic. There is no access. The only way I have to the ceiling or walls of the garage is to start removing the chip boards and they are not screwed in, they are all nailed in.

I believe I only have one GFCI receptacle in the whole house, none inside/outside of the garage. The one in the house is working, it just trips from time to time. And like you said maybe it's starting to fail. But it does always reset. I will check outside and around the house again tomorrow, but I am sure there are no more GFCI receptacles.

 

[Afrowookie]

I will get one this weekend and see if it will work for me.

But before I get one I will look around the house at other switches to see if I can find this elusive red wire.

And definitely check around the outside of house again for GFCI receptacles, but I don't expect to find any.

 

[nealtw]

I will get one this weekend and see if it will work for me.

But before I get one I will look around the house at other switches to see if I can find this elusive red wire.

And definitely check around the outside of house again for GFCI receptacles, but I don't expect to find any.

Soffet outlet would be my guess.

 

[Afrowookie]

I have no soffit outlets, that are visible anyways.

 

[slownsteady]

The other end of that red wire may not go to a switch, but could be in a junction box, if Afjes is right about it being just a remnant. If you know what circuit it is on and if the jboxes have any indication of what circuit they're on, then you can limit your search to those boxes. But somehow i doubt that it would be that easy

 

[nealtw]

The other end of that red wire may not go to a switch, but could be in a junction box, if Afjes is right about it being just a remnant. If you know what circuit it is on and if the jboxes have any indication of what circuit they're on, then you can limit your search to those boxes. But somehow i doubt that it would be that easy

Yeah that's why I said to go with a tracer.

 

[nealtw]

I have no soffit outlets, that are visible anyways.

Front door closet light with bulb missing?:rofl:

 

[Afrowookie]

I do not have a light fixture in my front closet.

 

[nealtw]

I do not have a light fixture in my front closet.

I didn't think so.:trophy:

 

[Snoonyb]

I actually thought about buying one before to do this but I didn't know if this kind of told was the correct one to get for my problem.

This was the one I looking to get an couple of weeks ago at Canadian Tire. Is this right kind of tool I need? If so is this one good?

http://www.sperryinstruments.com/en/products/tracers/wire-tracers

Before you spend money on this or a similar device, you need to understand that this is an end too end tester and as the video states, will not work for finding conductors inside wall cavities.

 

[nealtw]

Before you spend money on this or a similar device, you need to understand that this is an end too end tester and as the video states, will not work for finding conductors inside wall cavities.

Ooo, good catch, we do want one that will read thru the wall.
That would explain the cheap price.:thbup:

 

[Snoonyb]

In the same sentence he recommends a circuit tracer for behind walls and subterranean.

More $$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[Kabris]

That conduit coming from your house to your garage looks suspect. No proper condulet bodies were used. Does that wire come into the basement of your house and can you see what it is?

As far as your switch bank in your garage, it appears no conduits enter the box directly, it is all Romex.

I'm wondering if the previous homeowner wanted a 3 way setup to control the garage lights from the house and the garage, but after inspection tried to abandon that setup and put it on a single pole in the garage. That would account for your cut red wire. I would see if you have a 3 wire w/ ground inside your house where that conduit enters.

 

[nealtw]

That conduit coming from your house to your garage looks suspect. No proper condulet bodies were used. Does that wire come into the basement of your house and can you see what it is?

As far as your switch bank in your garage, it appears no conduits enter the box directly, it is all Romex.

I'm wondering if the previous homeowner wanted a 3 way setup to control the garage lights from the house and the garage, but after inspection tried to abandon that setup and put it on a single pole in the garage. That would account for your cut red wire. I would see if you have a 3 wire w/ ground inside your house where that conduit enters.

Did you see all the photos in post 58.

 

[Kabris]

Yes, it's that newest looking conduit. I'm wondering if there's a 3 wire w/ ground in that conduit.

 

[Afrowookie]

Kabris,

I am not sure if that wire is going into the basement. It is right at the level where if it's in the basement it is probably at the high part of the basement. And when looking in the basement near my panel and where the wire may be coming in, I cannot see anything because everything is covered up by insulation or a wall. So in other words I just can't tell.

I doubt that those lights were controlled by a switch in the garage. Reasons being are;

1)In the garage there are only 2 switches.

One for the internal garage lights. The second switch is for the floodlights at the rear of the garage. If I just wanted to turn on the front garage lights to light up the driveway all night, that means with the switches in the garage I would either have to have the interior lights or the floodlights at the back on all night also. That makes no sense.

2) I have only one other switch anywhere else either inside or outside the house/garage which does not seem to do anything. The only other thing that does not work and appears to have no control for it are those front garage lights. Also that suspect switch originally was a programmable timer switch. Since my porch light is a from dusk to dawn with sensor light and has its own switch, the only other reason why the original switch would have a timer was to control the front garage lights that light up the driveway.

3) I am not a genius nor am I an electrician, but knowing that I only have "one" switch that doesn't work, I also have "one" or in this case two fixtures that do not work. So even with my limited knowledge, my powers of deduction tells me that, that switch is for those lights. Until I can prove otherwise.

So maybe whoever installed it either they wired it wrong, or abandoned the project and it never worked in the first place. I don't know. At this point I just want to find out where the other end of the wire goes, either from the lights back, or from the switch forward.

Side note, I researched the circuit tracers that can do open/closed and in-wall checks, they are like $600+. So those are out of the question. So that means I am down to getting a wire tracer that does the tone but I am beginning to think that it won't be good enough.

 

[nealtw]

I thought like you it was maybe a three way or another wire for outlets or something, but we didn't find the third wire in the light.
But then he found one outlet in the garage that did not work. It had two cables in it which means the connection is somewhere else.
Perhaps a hidden junction box.

 

[Afrowookie]

Maybe, but how can I find out without tearing down walls? Is there an inexpensive tool that can help me do this.

I did find some circuit tracers for around $200+, but I'm not sure if it'll help my case.

I am willing to spend about 200-250. I just want to get this resolved.

 

[Kabris]

I know this can be frustrating, especially when these wires are buried in the walls. The fact that there is a 3 wire w/ ground at the switch and a suspect conduit going to the house tells me you may be feeding an abandoned 3 way switch in your house. That conduit is a botched DIY for sure, and was definitely added later. This switch may have been removed in a switch box and the wire still there. But if there is a way to see that wire inside your house could help. It would make sense to me that the previous homeowner may have added those garage lights after the garage was built, and may have wanted to switch them from the house and the garage.