[swimmer]

I'm working on dead parking lot lights for a small industrial park unit.
There are 3 of these Metal Halide (500W?) lights on 20' poles.
I'm looking for the photo switch so I can troubleshoot during daylight. I can't find it on top or on the building. Do they ever mount these switches on top of the fixture on the 20' pole?

 

[480sparky]

Sometimes.

If they are, that means there should be power at the hand-hole.

 

[backstay]

I'm working on dead parking lot lights for a small industrial park unit.
There are 3 of these Metal Halide (500W?) lights on 20' poles.
I'm looking for the photo switch so I can troubleshoot during daylight. I can't find it on top or on the building. Do they ever mount these switches on top of the fixture on the 20' pole?

Could be a time switch also.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Is there a contactor? Can you trace the control wiring back from it?
I've seen PC's in the weirdest places.

 

[Wirenuting]

We have a couple of buildings were both a time clock & rooftop mounted eye run the parking lot lights. IMO it was a bone head who designed it. The clock has to work before the eye works the contactor.

 

[union347sparky]

We have a couple of buildings were both a time clock & rooftop mounted eye run the parking lot lights. IMO it was a bone head who designed it. The clock has to work before the eye works the contactor.

That's pretty standard around here. It helps save energy supposedly. I prefer 1 photocell at reachable level to control ALL the lights. I can't stand when each light has its own PC. That is the bone headed move IMO.

 

[union347sparky]

I'm working on dead parking lot lights for a small industrial park unit. There are 3 of these Metal Halide (500W?) lights on 20' poles. I'm looking for the photo switch so I can troubleshoot during daylight. I can't find it on top or on the building. Do they ever mount these switches on top of the fixture on the 20' pole?

Drive by at night. Take notes on which lights don't work. Then you know which ones are off so you can fix during the day. Most times it's pretty obvious what is wrong when you open the fixture.

If that's not an option find where they're feed from the building. Follow the pipe. That will lead you to the contactor. Now follow that 1/2" pipe from that box and I bet you find the control to that contactor. It's got to be there somewhere.

 

[Wirenuting]

That's pretty standard around here. It helps save energy supposedly. I prefer 1 photocell at reachable level to control ALL the lights. I can't stand when each light has its own PC. That is the bone headed move IMO.

These eyes were no were near the clocks or building edge. They were in out of the way locations.
If it was just an eye or an astronomical clock it would have been a lot nicer.
I agree about the single PC for each light. Even most of our street lighting is now grouped. Makes life easier.

 

[HARRY304E]

.Swimmer.

Do not depend on a photo cell that is controlling these lights,find the circuit (s) and shut them off,all photo cells have a shade on them,and if not adjusted properly they will trip on when it's cloudy or when a bird lands on them,many are instant Trip,others have a built in delay as long as 3 minutes.

Many of those lights have a twist lock photo eye on them,usually on the top.

 

[union347sparky]

I'm working on dead parking lot lights for a small industrial park unit. There are 3 of these Metal Halide (500W?) lights on 20' poles. I'm looking for the photo switch so I can troubleshoot during daylight. I can't find it on top or on the building. Do they ever mount these switches on top of the fixture on the 20' pole?

Also this is bothering me. 400w. I never have seen a 500w anything. Not saying some oddball light from the past doesn't exists but nothing I've seen in the last 12 years is 500w.

 

[daveEM]

Did you check the Window Well?

Some guys put stuff in the weirdest of places. Took me a couple of hours to find this guy. It's in a 5 building complex and the photo cells are all over the place. This one runs the post lights in the parking lot. The building lights are controlled by a PEC at the front of the building 10 feet up. Other buildings are all over the map too.

The prints (and specs) call for one running a eight pole contactor. There are three contactors in unmarked boxes for this building. A 4-11/16 box, a 4" deep and there is one in that 12x12.

Ya never know.

 

[Rollie73]

Also this is bothering me. 400w. I never have seen a 500w anything. Not saying some oddball light from the past doesn't exists but nothing I've seen in the last 12 years is 500w.

I think thats why the OP put the 500W inside of brackets with a question mark. Like this......(500W ?). I take that to mean that he wasn't quite sure either.

 

[swimmer]

Also this is bothering me. 400w. I never have seen a 500w anything. Not saying some oddball light from the past doesn't exists but nothing I've seen in the last 12 years is 500w.

Probably bad memory on my part. I do 2 - 3 of these a year. I thought I remembered 250 and 500W.

 

[Shockdoc]

yack

 

[dspiffy]

I hunted for a while for a photocell, turned out to be in a window well on the least exposed side of the building.