Troubleshooting Tips for Motion Sensor Lights

If you’re serious about the security of your home, you probably have at least one motion sensor light installed. These lights are an important part of keeping away unwanted intruders and trespassers, provided they’re working right. However, many homeowners who have had one of these lights for several years are well aware of just how incredibly unreliable they can be. After even just a few short years, you could notice your motion sensor light turning on and off inappropriately.

Are you sick of dealing with your obnoxious motion sensor light but don’t want to give up the security it provides? Here are a few troubleshooting tips that will hopefully help you identify the problem and get it working properly again.

Check Positioning

While you may have initially set your light exactly how you’d like when you first installed it, winds or even other small impacts could have knocked the sensor out of alignment, causing it to trigger too soon or at completely the wrong time. If your light is turning on inconsistently, the first thing you should do is fix the alignment sensor and make sure it’s pointed where you want it to be.

Check Bulbs

Lamp not turning on properly? You might have dead lightbulbs. This is a fairly easy fix; simply grab a couple of new, energy efficient outdoor-rated lightbulbs, hop up on a ladder, and swap them out. Then stick your sensor into “test” mode, climb down, and wave your arms around in front of your sensor. Provided your sensor isn’t the issue, your light should turn right on, negating the issue.

Adjust Sensitivity

If your lamp isn’t turning on properly, you may need to adjust the sensitivity settings on your motion sensor. Stick the lamp into test mode by climbing up on a ladder, then climb down and walk through the area you want to have illuminated. If it lights up too easily, turn down the sensitivity. If it fails to turn on, try turning it up. You may also want to try climbing down and not standing in the sensor area to see if your lights turn on. If they do, then you might want to consider turning the sensitivity down, as your motion sensor could be picking up something as small as a light breeze traveling through grass.

If none of these repairs have worked, you should contact a Marietta electrician for help replacing the fixture with a new, state-of-the-art, energy efficient model.