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Do you think someone could have wired up an outdoor light without an inside switch?

BirdOPrey5

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No idea how to turn this light on or off. It's seemingly got power as it turns on randomly at night by itself.
 

wct097

NPD Club President 2021-2022
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Looks like it has a motion sensor or light sensor (the box hanging down). Could very well be wired without an indoor switch. I expect when the wind blows, it swings the motion sensor which cuts the light on.

edit: The easy way to tell if it's switched or not would be to pop the cover off the outlet box. If you have two wires plus a ground going up from the outlet to the light, then it's not switched. If you have a third wire (usually red) going up but not tied to the outlet, then it could be switched.
 

kthrash

I have Automotive A.D.D.
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yeah thats a light and or motion sensor activated flood light.. I doubt it has a switch..
 

BirdOPrey5

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Really? So only way to shut power is the breaker switch then?

I have a floodlight on motion sensor in the front too but that as an inside switch to shut it off when I don't want it to come on. Never seen a light wired without a switch before.

What's weird is there a switch in the basement on the wall somewhat behind the outlet, but not exactly, that I could never figure out what it controlled.
 

wct097

NPD Club President 2021-2022
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Really? So only way to shut power is the breaker switch then?

I have a floodlight on motion sensor in the front too but that as an inside switch to shut it off when I don't want it to come on. Never seen a light wired without a switch before.

What's weird is there a switch in the basement on the wall somewhat behind the outlet, but not exactly, that I could never figure out what it controlled.
Can go either way. Best way to find out is to open up the outlet cover and take a peek.... or I suppose you could test the switch to see if it does it, but you'd need a way to trip the motion sensor which appears to be pretty high up and facing the wall.
 
We have two outdoor fans under our covered patio that do not have switches. They are wired directly to the breaker. We have to use the pull cords to turn on/off. im with kthrash, it looks like it was added later, and in that case, most likely doesnt have a switch. just a night/motion sensor and the light wired directly to power.
 
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