outside lighting help

[jimbo_25]

i am installing outside lighting along a drive way and want to put a motion sensor at the bottom of the drive and one at the top both controlling the same set of lights. they will be controlling 4x 60watt eyelid bulkheads lights. how can i do this what sensors can i use????

 

[stretchyboy]

Four core armoured, buried along the route,... loop in and out of all sensors and lights, .... use three cores for your feed and the other for your switched live. Quite simple really

 

[jimbo_25]

i only what to put 2 sensors. 1 at the top of the drive way and another at the bottom. and the lights in the middle of the 2 sensors. what sensors can i use will i need sum sort of slave unit????

 

[stretchyboy]

Any external pir will do, no slave needed, both sensors just pick up movement and switch a 'live' onto the switched live conductor. The cabling just 'daisy chains' from the feed to the first sensor to the first light, second light, third light and on to the second sensor. At the feed end you connect a live/neutral/earth and terminate the un-used switched live conductor - then at the first sensor you connect all conductors as per the diagram for the sensor, at the first light you connect switched live/ neutral/earth and join the two live conductors to eachother so they are continuous, repeat at other lights and finish at last sensor connecting all conductors as per sensor diagram (live/neutral/earth/switched-live)

 

[jimbo_25]

this method does not seem to work the sensors, they seem to be conflicting with each other. the lights keep coming on and off on and off without any movemoent infront of the lights???

 

[stretchyboy]

you fitted that quick! it should work fine, check your connections just to be sure.
Try taking one sensor out of circuit and test each one seperately first, then try the other one on its own, then lastly put then both back on together. This should show if the problem is with one or other sensor. They are PIR sensors aren't they ? Do they click when they get activated?

 

[jimbo_25]

yea challenger sl180. someone told me you need capacitors or something????

 

[stretchyboy]

shouldn't do, most sensors are relay output, so it would be just like having two light switches in parallel. What would a capacitor do then? and where are they saying to add it?

Have you tried them individually yet?

 

[sparks1234]

We regularly do PIR's this way, never a problem, make sure the sensors have the same feed and neutral then use the switchline to connect from the PIR to the live of the bollard, you could put 100 sensors in if you wanted

 

[stretchyboy]

The only time it might not work is if the sensor isn't relay output and is solid state or transister output, but these are really rare. I looked up the challenger and they are quoting 1KW output so i doubt it would be either of these.

 

[jimbo_25]

thanks very much for the help guys. i will try them one by one 2moz and see what happens. jst one thing i want to make sure on, the switch live ( output of the sensor) loops to all the lights and then back to the switch live of the other sensor. then obviously you have live and neutral feeds in both of the sensors and neutral in the lights.

 

[stretchyboy]

yep ;-) good luck

 

[DHES-LTD]

This will work done it loads of times on staircases.
permanant Feed + Neutral to your 1st PIR, then loop a permanant Feed to yor 2nd PIR
Then switched Live and Neutral from your 1st PIR, loop in and out of all of your fittings then from your last fitting to your 2nd PIR.
This way whichever PIR switches it will energise the lights.
Hope this helps.