Pool and spa lights on dimmers have gone crazy

12 years ago

Hi all,

I have not been around much as the pool has been working pretty well but a few months ago, I noticed that the lights on the pool are not working correctly.

I have 2 500w lights in the pool and 1 100w light in the spa. They are both on dimmers that work with my Jandy Aqualink RS8. They have been working fine for about 4 years (we really don't use the lights that much) but found that both of them are erratic now. I can from the controller inside the house select any power level - 25 -> 100% and the chances a light will come on are about 1 in 10. From the spa switch, the spa light will come on to whatever power it seems to want, if it comes on. Sometimes the light will be on in the spa, but the OneTouch controller will indicate it is off.

Called the builder and they suggested making sure that it knows the dimmers are present. It does, but still won't work correctly. For the pool, when the lights come on, they both come on, so the bulbs are not burnt out. Everything was fine until this winter when they both went out.

Any ideas on what to check? I think it strange that both relays would go out at the same time....

Thanks! Chris

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Comments (7)

poolguynj
12 years ago
Check the power. If they share the same breaker...

Scott
dancingsams
12 years ago
My best guess is you have a wire or connection somewhere that has become loose or corroded. It would definitely explain the erratic symptoms.
chris_r11
Original Author
12 years ago
Scott, I assume it is OK because the circuit is not tripped and the GFCI outlet that is on the same circuit seems to be working fine. Is there something else on the circuit I should check? Chris
poolguynj
12 years ago
Assume nothing. A loose connection won't trip a breaker. It could very well be a loose connection or broken wire that makes when the vibrations are right.

Scott
chris_r11
Original Author
12 years ago
So, is there anything to worry about if I turn the power off at the main circuit breaker panel (to the whole Aqualink unit) and open up it up?

If I can't find any wires that are broken, I guess I will have to call the builder but since they don't like to come out unless they have to it should be worth a look. Just take notice around the dimmer relays?
chris_r11
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, I turned off the power and checked the wires I could see and such. I found a couple ground screws that were not that tight and tightened them up.

The spa light seems to turn on now, but it likes 75% best and never 100%. Both pool lights I guess were worse than I thought and don't seem to want to turn on at all. Guess both relays could have died at the same time (??) Maybe I will have the pool co come out and if the relays are bad, just have them put in the old, standard relays for now. I would prefer to upgrade to LED sometime anyways.

Chris
chris_r11
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, just to close the loop on the thread, the PB found that both relays were burnt out for whatever reason. I just had them put in the standard relays that I had sitting around.

Thanks for all the help.
Chris