Why Do Pool Lights Leak?

From www.swimmingpoo... - Learn how and why pool lights leak. If the cord seal that goes around the wire in the electrical conduit is deteriorated or missing, water can access the conduit and leak out of your swimming pool through this failure. The electrical conduit is a main source of the pool light leaks. Renovating the light to repair or replace that cord seal is sometimes a can of worms and you will find both electricians and pool technicians do not get too excited to work on older swimming pool lights.

[@randy_constan]

Wish I'd have seen this years ago. I went through a long process, measuring the exact level of water loss each day over weeks time, and applying some pretty tricky math to determine at what depth the leak was. But once I did I realized the only thing at that depth was the light. I drained the pool down to that light level, did some more tricks to get it to dry out well (that took several days), and then applied a generous amount of silicone sealant up into the conduit and around its entry point. Gave it generous time to solidify, re-assembled and hoped for the best. That did it! No more loss! Now looking at all these videos again because the incandescent bulb finally went, and I'm hoping to replace with a modern 12V Led replacement. I'm super concerned because despite not seeing any evidence of water inside the fixture, it is an old fixture, and obviously an electronic LED is going to be even less tolerant of water than an original replacement. I've bought a new gasket and probably will add a bunch of extra sealant when I put it all back together. But I sure wish the LED manufacturers would just make them waterproof. Guess I'll just do the best I can and hope for the best. Any tips on that appreciated!

[@nycupperes]

We have been dealing with a Hack pool installer EDI CONSTRUCTION. Our pool contractor installed the pool lights at the bottom level of the skimmer level. We read that all pool lights should be at least 18” underwater. They are the newer SR SMITH LED lights. The conduit at 1/2” also appears to be way to small. Does it all need to be redone, which would involve removing all the backfill under the large 2’x2’ pavers? Also, the conduit was never brought above the level of the water. Seems like an accident waiting to happen, yet he’s rushing to complete the work and move onto his next job.

[@billymakesmusic]

I have a Pentair 12 V LED Glo Brite light that needs replaced and can’t find a KZbin video on how to do this. Any suggestions?

[@brianjohnson8883]

I have the Jandy version of this light, 6 of them in my pool all failed. I am in the process of rebuilding them with modifications. You disconnect the power cable at the pool equipment end. tie a string to the end of the cable. unscrew the light from the inch and a half PVC "niche" , pull the light, cable and string out through the pipe. The new light comes with a new cable attached. By now you have likley figured this out. Sorry to have taken so long.

[@tommac5411]

Great video. Clear sound, explanation, and helpful.

[@franmusolino2660]

I have water trapped inside the light housing enough to touch the bottom of bulb,have R&R light gasket seal, sprayed flex seal around cord fitting… same amount of water present again. Any ideas ?

[@Caperetiree]

I just had my pool renovated with new tiles and Pebble Tec surface. Lights in pool and spa are still sitting on deck waiting for new light bulbs so the niches are directly exposed to the pool water. Pool was filled a few days ago and we have been losing 1.0 to 1.25 inches of water per day. Is this possibly the most likely location for a possible leak? We normally run our filter 8 hours each day but during the pool setup which will take 30 days, the filter must run 24 hours each day and we have a spillover. Could the spillover over be causing an inordinate amount of water loss through evaporation?

[@kevinzarth2856]

I contacted a Duct Seal Manufacturer (Ideal), and they stated that duct seal is not recommended for underwater applications. So do not use duct seal, silicone, epoxy, what is left that I can try and not have to worry about a year or two down the road?

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

duct seal works fine. they just dont want to take on any liability since this is not the intended use of their product. But if you want another solution use butyl tape.

[@MrCarmelo1959]

My light is not completely seal entering the electrical conduit line I see the adhesive has a small hole I’m thinking this could be my problem from losing water but it’s only a small lost about two feet in a week I’ve drain the water out planning on acid wash after I fix the light but doing research on what kind of sealant to use don’t want to repeat this again because of not using the correct sealant I have this marine puddy that I’m going to try wish me luck I can’t sit around waiting for a response no offense just trying to finish the job thanks liked your advice I subscribe for more information thanks

[@etmeyutub]

I have an above ground pool. The light does not work. It is leaking in the back on the outside. I am getting a new liner soon. I want to just get rid of the light altogether. How do I patch the hole that was there before they put the new liner over that spot?

[@Makingofabetterlife]

What do you recommend is my next step? My Mama is end stage bladder cancer and I am autistic/disabled and came down to Fl to help her out. She had a guy from Church came in and charged her 170. And he mostly messed with chemicals which I spent since July learning about and told him I had it covered and yet he did them anyways. 😢. I need to fix this for my Mama so she doesnt have to pay any thing else. I am very mechanically inclined so am sure i can do it. I just need an idea on which direction to go. I am getting goggles on the first and the way the guy put the light in, you can see inside the back of the light because there is a 1 inch gap and he said that is the right way to put it back. I have lived here/Mom had for 50 yrs and its never not been flush to the pool. He also put putty in a leak behind the light, saying it had busted through, which after 50 yrs i of course tend to believe him. The pool has been loved and maintained well over the years. The only idea I have is to put the light back in flush and turn off the breaker when I do so. The whole thing started with a leak. Thecpool is still doing a leak and I am also wondering if it could just be, he didn't put the light back properly?

[@justinmchenry3012]

I had a new in ground pool installed and a light in the deep end. The conduit from the light is pouring out water like a garden hose. The installer told us it is a water cooled light and should have water in the conduit.

[@Caddy92680]

Steve, could you do a video on how to replace a pool light gasket? There is not a video in existence that addresses this. I have a jandy waterworks and need to replace the gasket and wanted to see what the best way to remove and also install the new gasket. Appreciate your videos.

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

I do not replace gaskets on sealed lights. They are likely to leak again, and now responsibility and liability are with the last person to touch it. Any sealed light fixture that leaks needs to be replaced. Others might do it differently and that is up to them. For my time, and my risk, I do not open lights and repair anything. Replace.

[@kamranb4815]

@@Swimmingpoolsteve Hi Steve, How about surface mounted lights in tiled pools. How do you seal them? i recently changed my halogen surface mounted light fittings with LED ones and noticed my water drops down about 3 inch and stops there. if i fill it up , same thing happens again. would like to hear your thoughts ?

[@jwayne777]

Hey , it's super easy. Shut off the light power or circuit. Lock out tag out. Then Remove the housing you should have plenty of cord slack and place it on the pool deck. Disassemble and remove old gasket. Clean the pool lightglass with windex and use 1500-1800 grit sandpaper to remove calcium from the glass. Make sure it's all clean and dry. Fill a 5 gallon test bucket with pool water. Install the NEW seal close the housing. Place the housing in the bucket with water AND SUBMERGE. IF YOU SEE AIR BUBBLES . REMOVE DISSAssemble dry out the water repeat. Once you confirm no leaks place a brick on the light keeping it submerged. Make sure the power is gfci protected and turn the light on. Leave on for 2 hours in the bucket submerged. After 2hours confirm no leaks. Turn off the circuit. Lock out tag out and reinstall housing in the niche. Easy peasy.

[@thestowshow6348]

We just dealt with this in our brand new pool but luckily it is all fixed! Super crazy big job!

[@alejandroroman9491]

Mr. Steve i recently converted my pool from freshwater to saltwater and a few months later while attempting to turn on the light on the pool (1991installation) the Gfci would jump after some research I checked the light for water leak and there was water inside plus some sticky blue looking goo. the wire came from the back of the wall and it would travel in and out easily. the back of the metal housing said freshwater only. any thoughts

[@oldkid6]

I just had my old 120v pool light changed to a 12v LED and the pool tech couldn't get the old light out because he said the screws were stripped. They had to drain the pool in order to drill the screws out, even then they had a difficult time removing the light. Once he finally got the light in, he then said someone cut the wires at the junction box too short and couldn't make a proper connection. He wanted me to hire an electrician to rebuild the junction box, I complained to the pool company stating that if I had known prior to the pool light being installed that I needed to have the pool drained and have electrical work on top of that I wouldn't have gone through with the job as the cost keeps climbing. I fill the pool back up and after a few days noticed it was lower than it should be, so I filled it again past the usual tile mark, three days later it's lower. Talk about opening up a can of worms with replacing the pool light. Now I have a pool light installed that doesn't work and it's leaking. The only upside for me at this point is that I haven't paid the contractor because we're in the process of trying to get the light to work. I'm not looking forward to having the conversation with him tomorrow that they created a leak when pulling out the light out.

[@jwayne777]

Not sure if this helps but they can epoxy the conduit hole or buy a rubber grommet pool light stopper from Amazon and shove it in the hole.

[@robchandler7014]

May want to use Butyl Sealant tape. Pack it in around the cord several times, this can be installed wet. Make sure you pack it in tightly and deep around the cord abt 0.75 in deep with a dull screwdriver.

[@israelclayman]

So if you were building a new pool today would you even worry about putting a light FYI I'm doing a vinyl liner

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

Definitely. In fact a pool light is considered to be part of the mandatory safety equipment for modern pools. So any new pool built today not only should have a light, it must have a light!

[@emeraldnotch7758]

I'm installing a semi above pool fully buried in the next month. I've ordered the Hayward Colorlogic 320 system. Any advice you can give me to prevent leaking?

[@jwayne777]

Only advice is make sure they run the conduit like a plumbing paraphrase to keep out water from the j box. Make sure you install a rubber grommet on the cord and plug it in the conduit. Leave plenty of cord slack for maintenance. Have fun with the pool.

[@timjameson1385]

This is a very informative video, but it is lacking information on the proper corrective steps to take when encountering this situation. I really wish you went into the proper procedures to fix any leaking into the conduit. Thanks in advance if you see this comment and reply.

[@mikekurtz627]

very informative, thank you

[@oldkid6]

I have a old pool and what I believe is the original light fixture housing from 1970, while I cannot verify this to be true based on other things it's more than likely. Every time I turn the pool light on it trips the GFCI, I have had two different electricians try and fix it. The weird part is that when the electrician is at my house he can get the light to stay on. But the next day when I try to turn on the light it trips the GFCI, so while that remains a mystery, it has to be water getting inside the light fixture. The electrical run from the GFCI outlet to the junction box is at least 50 ft. away, and I know it's running 120V because there's no transformer. This pool is relatively large and old, it has the original pool tiles which need to be replaced but that's a whole other story. My question is, should I try and replace the light fixture and keep it incandescent or have everything replaced and rewired for an LED? This problem is truly frustrating and it seems like pool guys don't want to do this job, and electricians don't want to say it's the pool light because they can't be 100% sure. I just want the light to work and be done with it. How would you go about fixing this problem? My pool isn't losing water, but there has to be a leak inside the light, right?

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

Sorry I missed this question earlier. If this were my pool I would 100% disconnect that light fron the breaker and leave it that way. 120v into a pool with a known problem with the light is terrifying to me. How much do you trust that GFI to not fail? For me, I would renovate this light to be a low voltage light and would replace the light, cord and wire feeding the light right from the panel to eliminate any deficiency within the existing wire from causing problems with the new light. The cost of a 500W incandescent light is ridiculous by the hour. That is 3/4 of a horsepower of light energy being consumed. The lower running costs will offset the remediation costs. Hopefully the old light can be pulled out as sometimes the cords swell and you need to do surgery to get it out. If I had to put my finger on your current problem (no pun intended) I would guess that you have moisture in the wire terminations which is why the light will on occasion reset. A GFI is like a hair trigger. It takes the tiniest fault to cause the trip, which is good, as that is what keeps you alive in the event of a ground fault in the circuit.

[@oldkid6]

@@Swimmingpoolsteve No problem SPS, I 100% agree that I need to switch to a 12v light and I just want a basic one, nothing fancy. One problem I am having is finding a pool repair person to do this job, the main reason is that they say either job is too small, or I should wait until I get the pool resurfaced. Electricians' don't want to do the job, they tell me to call a pool guy, so I call pool companies and when I explain the problem they tell me to call an electrician. It's really frustrating to try and find a good contractor to do small jobs, they just want to sign me up for pool cleaning and chemical service. When it comes to replacing lights/electrical problems or want to replace my tiles they shy away from even giving me a quote. Let me ask you this, how much in general should this cost?

[@andreschoeman1317]

Hi Steve, just came across your channel. Currently my pool has no light.I have a marble lite pool with fiber glass coating. Was very old and seems to have been repaired over the years. I’m not sure how to go about sealing the light niche once I have cut and chopped to make a hole for it. Any advice?

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

The light niche on a concrete pool, just like the skimmer, requires a structural concrete box on all sides of it to attach it to the wall and help reduce potential for leaks. Additionally I would seam it with a concrete urethane from the pool side to prevent (reduce) water tracking along the underside of the niche and escaping the system. Be CERTAIN the light is safe, meets electrical code, is bonded, and is protected by a GFI circuit breaker. Also should be using low voltage lights not line voltage (115 VAC)

[@andreschoeman1317]

Swimming Pool Steve thanks for the advice Steve! Would I not need to fiberglass over concrete urethane?

[@Natsumidragneelkim]

@@Swimmingpoolsteve The best way i have found to do pool lighting is fiber optic don't ever have to worry about leaks or electrical shock because you put the light source right next to the pump house

[@Keefus88]

Great video and great replies. Thanks for your time.

[@kelm1123]

I just went to replace my pool light bulb only to find out the housing is wet inside. That light hasn't work since we bought the house two years ago. Breaker is off. Question, even when breaker was on no power was going through it. Been like that for two years but I want to call an electrician to be safe.

[@Waikatotek]

I don’t know why I’m looking at light issues when my pool is brand new and won’t have water for a few more days 🤣🤣

[@markpisano9173]

What do you do if the housing has a leak ? I think it has a hairline crack that may be spreading

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

The solution here would be to replace the housing which is something normally done along with a major renovation. This might be one of the few times that a two part repair epoxy might be your best bet until the next point of major renovation. I also like butyl tape for repairing as it has some ability to flex where repair epoxy is normally rigid once cured.

[@cah197]

Thanks, you’re awesome.

[@tgyyoung]

Okay, this is starting to get strange.... At the end of the season last year I realized that I was going to have to replace my pump. Since that time you ran an exhaustive set of videos about variable speed pumps that were just great. Helped me a lot and I just installed a Pentair superflo vs and it is great. NOW my next project is to find a leak that has been a pain for the last year. My local pool company said that it is probably the light. I am going to verify that tomorrow with some dye. It is a very slow leak, about and inch in two weeks (16x32 pool). But they recommend epoxy putty. I have also been told that butyl tape stuffed around the cord would work. (video on KZbin) Both of these methods can be done without draining the pool to below the light. I know you said that it can be a hard problem but there is so little pressure and such a small area, I don't get it . Since you don't like epoxy is there another recommendation that you might have. I know that you mentioned duct seal compound, but I am not familiar with this. Is duct seal compound the same as plumbers putty. And can it be applied under water or does the water have to be drained. Thanks for all your helpful videos.

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

DO NOT use epoxy. Terrible advice unless you want to make a permanent change to your system which will end up costing you thousands extra in the future! Never, ever put something that hardens like epoxy into your light conduit or around the cord. Also, to the same extent, epoxy is almost never the right solution in a pool. Ugh, frustrating you would be given advice like that. So yes, duct seal compound is my recommendation with butyl tape being second only because it is a sticky mess and leaves residue that makes the light cord hard to pull in the future. Duct seal compound and plumbers putty are similar, but care ful with terminology. All you care about is that it looks like playdough and says expressly that it does not harden. This way it plugs the leak now but comes out no-harm-no-foul at a later point when the light needs to be removed or replaced. FYI a dye test on a light will reveal nothing in 99% of the cases. A dye test is veru inconclusive on all but the worst offending leaks. It is rarely what you hope it will look like when you try it, and the light nighe conduit hole is hard to see when not in the water. If you are in the water there is too much movement in the water for the dye test to work really. If you think you have light leak what I would do it just look at the light with a mask underwater or with an underwater endoscope attachment for your phone. Just look to see what is going on now. Is there a big stupid blow of silicone in there now? For many the answer is yes and silicone was never the right thing to use. It sealed at first, and when you move the cord to winterize the light of change the bulb it start leaking. Duct seal compound, only a few bucks and definitely worth the effort even without a dye test confirming a leak in this location. As for the coincidence, to be fair I have recorded and filmed 200 videos since late last season so a few of them were bound to be relevant lol!

[@gsh319]

Great stuff, thank you

[@theedrstrangelove]

Just use flex seal with a calk gun. Use the whole canister. Woked for me and everyone I've done ths for. You could also use grout for underwater use.

[@angiesullens2126]

Geeze yr bumming me out

[@iceloko]

Pool guy replaced my light to a new color changing one, but used epoxy to sealed connection since he didnt change the whole wiring, now gfi is tripping!

[@Swimmingpoolsteve]

You need an electrician to inspect this. Please power off the breaker for the light.

[@juandelacruz1891]

u have to make diagrams and just talking is useless