Light Timer Woes (Power Leak when off) LED light

dbz said:
So SWIM and I wired in 2 outlets, turns out you were 100 percent right. SWIM hasnt done wiring much and I didnt check but they wanted to be involved. Reversed the polarity. That was the entire issue.
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Very happy it was an easy solution.
Best of luck on your grows :P
 
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printer said:
The ground should not be connected to the circuit of the timer, or whatever device is plugged in. It is connected to the metal case, if the internal circuit accidentally touches the case or arcs onto the case the current is suppose to return to ground. The circuit does not know if the neutral is going up as compared to the hot or the hot is going down as compared to the neutral. The diodes used to create dc for the circuit to function will work just as well with the wires flipped either way. I am pretty sure it would not cause this problem but I messaged my brother on it, he designs lighting and ventilation control equipment.
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No one said the ground was a problem. I said there should be a ground for safety reasons.
:wall:
 
It might be the wiring causing the issue. Sometimes the wiring can work as a capacitor, or just cause electromagnetically induced voltage from being close to another wire, and slightly light up the LED's.
 
dbz said:
It was the polarity on the outlet as @Mak'er Grow suggested
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There is no polarity with AC, only phase shift, which can happen by the phenomenon explained in the video. Alternatively phase shift could be due to improper wiring in the house, which can be a serious firehazard and typical killer of electric motors.
 
Enanthate said:
There is no polarity with AC, only phase shift, which can happen by the phenomenon explained in the video. Alternatively phase shift could be due to improper wiring in the house, which can be a serious firehazard and typical killer of electric motors.
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While technically correct it is a common quick term to denote the hot and neutral being reversed in AC wiring. I understand there is no real positive or negative in AC. I also understand his answer solved my issue and was correct regardless of how it was worded. Reversing these would not damage hardly any appliance but it does create a shock hazard and will constantly output some current with single pole switch devices, which is precisely the issue I was having. (Also why the light turned off when using the switch on the light as it was a double pole switch) Thankfully avoided any shocks.
 
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dbz said:
While technically correct it is a common quick term to denote the hot and neutral being reversed in AC wiring. I understand there is no real positive or negative in AC. I also understand his answer solved my issue and was correct regardless of how it was worded. Reversing these would not damage hardly any appliance but it does create a shock hazard and will constantly output some current, which is precisely the issue I was having. Thankfully avoided any shocks.
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I wasn't trying to say he's wrong. Switching the wires fixed your issue. I just tried to provide an explanation why that actually worked for you, as it's worth investigating. But that's my opinion, and it's not my house so forget about it.
Glad you avoided shocks.
 
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I have a pretty good understanding of the electrical end of things but while I was 99% sure it was not the wires flipped I was not 100% sure. Things are funny sometimes. My brother answer and he has been designing this stuff for 30 years, he said " Line reversal shouldn't matter. But I can't say that definitely. But it is unlikely. " Being in the building controls field for a long enough time I have a hard time saying something is 100% unless I had at the actual device. Seen too much stuf that made me say, "And I thought I saw it all."
 
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