Pool light out? We'll find the cause.

Pool light out? We'll find the cause.

An underwater light is the one piece of pool equipment where guessing is a genuinely bad idea, so we don't. Diagnosis only: we find out why it's out, put it in writing, and any electrical work goes to Pool-Clinic. Here's what we actually check.

Start at the GFCI, because a tripped GFCI is the most common reason a pool light is off and it's also the most important one to take seriously — it tripped for a reason. If it resets and holds, we look at the switch, the timer or automation relay, and the breaker. If it trips again, that points at moisture in the fixture or the junction box, or at the transformer on a low-voltage system. Then the fixture itself: is the lens cloudy or holding water, which means the gasket has failed and the lamp is shorted; is the cord jacket cracked where it enters the niche; is there corrosion at the junction box, which you'll see on coastal pools in Oceanside and Carlsbad long before you see it inland. On older incandescent and halogen fixtures the lamp itself is often simply burned out, and on LEDs the driver fails before the diodes do.

What you get is a written finding: GFCI, switch, transformer, gasket, cord, lamp, or fixture — and whether the circuit is safe to leave energized or should stay off until it's dealt with. We do not open a sealed fixture, pull a light from its niche, or work on the wiring. If it's a lamp on a fixture that's dry and sound, we'll say so; anything beyond that is electrical work.

The electrical work goes to Pool-Clinic

Anything involving the fixture, the wiring, the transformer, or the junction box goes to our referral partner: Pool-Clinic Inc., a licensed C-53 swimming pool contractor, CSLB #1122305. You contract with them directly and pay them directly. We take nothing. Our write-up goes with you, so you know exactly what you're being quoted for.