Why is the outside light fixture in the original part of my house flickering at half power but working fine at full power, and how can I fix it?
Asked by Lynn Gray 
1 month ago
Last Updated: October 16, 2024
I just put up some new outdoor lights with LED bulbs at my place. They’re set to come on at half power at dusk and dawn, but ramp up to full power if they detect motion. The lights in the newer part of the house are working great since they’re grounded. The one in the older section is giving me some trouble though – it flickers at half power, but works fine at full power. Any thoughts on what might be causing this? I heard someone mention switching out the switch for one that’s specifically designed for LED lights. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
If I were you, I’d consider swapping out the fixtures. This way, you can eliminate the fixture as the source of the issue. If the second fixture flickers too, then you’ll know it’s being caused by something else, like a missing ground or a faulty LED driver.
It usually takes about 5 minutes to switch out a fixture, then you can eliminate that possibility. If you’re dealing with someone who likely doesn’t have any meters or tools to test, then you have to work with what you’ve got. It’s often a bad connection, but this LED fixture might require a ground. It’s not exactly rocket science, but you might end up chasing your tail for an hour. If the fixture flickers, then you’ll need to add a new 14/2 and ground to that fixture. There are other solutions, but I can’t suggest them on this forum.
Is suggesting a basic diagnostic technique of swapping cylinder 4 and 5 coils to see if the misfire issue follows. His idea is sound. One light fixture is working fine while the other one flickers.
Are these LED bulbs replaceable? Some LED bulbs cannot be dimmed and may flicker.
It seems like you may have ended up with the wrong type of LED bulb. There are dimmable LED bulbs and non-dimmable LED bulbs to choose from.
I went ahead and tested the connections and experimented with two different 60w LED dimmable bulbs. But, when I switched to a 100w LED dimmable bulb tonight, the flickering magically disappeared! I’m thinking that maybe the lower wattage bulb was flickering due to the fixture cutting the voltage to dim it. Perhaps it wasn’t getting enough voltage to function properly. Thanks for all the assistance!
Anonymous contributor It’s a good idea to test out the more affordable option initially. It worked out well in this scenario! 👍
Anonymous contributor Appreciate you sharing your solution. I’m dealing with a similar problem above my kitchen island, but my lights flicker when the dimmer is set to a higher brightness. I may have to consider switching to lower wattage bulbs to prevent the flickering when I increase the brightness.