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Thread: Problem with Christmas lights turning on

  1. #1
    Junior Member
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    Nov 2018
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    Problem with Christmas lights turning on

    I recently added a PD-6ANS to an existing system to control a switch that activates my Christmas light eave plug. I have 6 strings of LED bulbs each rated at a total wattage of 6W for a total of 30w. When all 5 are connected to the plug the switch will turn on but the lights won’t illuminate. When I unplug one of the strings and then turn on the lights, the remaining 4 illuminate.

    I presume that the issue occurs when the lights are powering on and more amperage is drawn but it seems light an awfully small load considering that the lights themselves advise connecting up to 36 strings to one outlet is acceptable. This makes it hard for me to believe the Lutron switch would be anywhere close to maxed (600w) so anything here I’m not understanding? Thanks all.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Oct 2013
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    Are you able to isolate the issue to 1 string of lights? As a test, you can plug them in to a non-switched outlet and try to isolate the defective string. It's not impossible to have a bad switch.

    You are correct in that the load is well within the capacity of the switch.

    Make sure you have the neutral connected. Not all white wires are neutrals.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  3. #3
    Junior Member
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    Nov 2018
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyc View Post
    Are you able to isolate the issue to 1 string of lights? As a test, you can plug them in to a non-switched outlet and try to isolate the defective string. It's not impossible to have a bad switch.

    You are correct in that the load is well within the capacity of the switch.

    Make sure you have the neutral connected. Not all white wires are neutrals.
    Thanks for the response. I had indeed tried each string individually and I can say that any combination of the 4 strings works, but the 5 do not. So I come back to the idea of load.

    There were a couple of neutral wires capped together in that box so I will try one of the others and see if that works. Do you know if a missing neutral could cause a problem like this? I guess I had just assumed the switch wouldn’t have worked at all but perhaps that’s not the case.

    Failing that I will get a second switch and see if the problem can be replicated.

    Thanks again.

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