Strange garden lighting issue

[dave7108]

..I have 8 of these in the garden. The reviews, after I purchased them are not great with early failure seemingly present. I tested them in today's baking hot sun, removed them from the ground and let them fully dry out, then blasted them with the house hose ( normal pressure not jetwash). 2 made the elec trip out. I thought perhaps water is getting in beyond the glass. For research purposes I took a hammer and smashed the frosted glass. It was bone dry inside. From the bottom they are fully sealed on a metal housing. I guess I could smash and destroy the 2nd one but I have a feeling this would also be dry. They are 240v, any ideas what could tripping these out and why? The cables connecting them altogether are those T shape ones I had from Screwfix. I've also squirted all the wire and connectors beforehand and this didn't trip.

Much obliged.

[Super Sonic]

Might not be a good idea to hose things while they're plugged in to a 240v main!

[Last Visit]

Am I missing something, was there anything wrong with them before you removed them and blasted them with water?

[Andeh1]

How are they connected to each other? Where are the cable joints elsewhere ...

[mikeiow]

Last Visit said:

Am I missing something, was there anything wrong with them before you removed them and blasted them with water?

Was wondering the same.....if it ain't broke, don't fix it - always been my motto!

[E-bmw]

dave7108 said:

..I have 8 of these in the garden. The reviews, after I purchased them are not great with early failure seemingly present. I tested them in today's baking hot sun, removed them from the ground and let them fully dry out, then blasted them with the house hose ( normal pressure not jetwash). 2 made the elec trip out. I thought perhaps water is getting in beyond the glass. For research purposes I took a hammer and smashed the frosted glass. It was bone dry inside. From the bottom they are fully sealed on a metal housing. I guess I could smash and destroy the 2nd one but I have a feeling this would also be dry. They are 240v, any ideas what could tripping these out and why? The cables connecting them altogether are those T shape ones I had from Screwfix. I've also squirted all the wire and connectors beforehand and this didn't trip.

Much obliged.

Well as others have said, quite why you did all that seems very strange on the face of what you posted.

[dave7108]

Yes they were tripping the electric before hand I should of added. I'm trying to attain which lights are faulty and also why when I can't see any water ingress.

[dave7108]

Using these connectors and pond 3 score cable

[Byker28i]

I used 12v lighting when I did my garden, The Techmar stuff. Easy to run, reliable, no mains voltage around the place
https://gardenlightshop.com

[JoshSm]

Could just be corroded somewhere in the connectors (or internally) which is causing the short and won't go away however dry you get them.

Doesn't need a big leak to go that way either.

Possibly salvageable, depends on how corroded and how sealed. I've used a chemical method very recently to fix something that had got wet and even after drying had developed a slight short somewhere inaccessible. If it's going to be scrap otherwise it's hardly going to hurt.

[48k]

Are they the only things on the circuit?

If so can you trace the wire from the consumer unit to each light and check for breaks / damaged / eaten cable ? Can you disconnect all the lights except one and see if it trips, and if it doesn't add a light back on to the circuit one at a time until it trips?

It's more likely to be a short than a ground fault.

[Spare tyre]

We’ve tried everything at my folks house, me fitting stuff, friends fitting stuff and professionals fitting stuff

Always get damp. We believe it’s moisture “wicking” up the cables (potentially inside the sheath)

We’ve kind of given up!

We think we’ve sold it for 6months then it happens again.

You typically get what you pay for until you don’t