PIR replacements for flood lights

nbstl68

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I have three flood lights I like a lot as they light up my 2 acre lot well. However the PIR sensor that hangs below them is not dusk to dawn and will trigger all day long. One also seems to have filed as it comes on constantly or stays on w no movement.
Can you replace these?
If so, can someone recommend a quality PIR mfg replacement that would retrofit easily, not false trigger so rasily and include dusk to dawn so it won't trigger during the day?
 

tangent

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That's basically what I have. The built in pir fixture is not working properly and need to replace it with a better one if possible.

https://www.amazon.com/SleekLighting-Protection-Floodlight-Corrosion-resistant-Weatherproof/dp/B00M0RO5IY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520798600&sr=8-1&keywords=Sleeklighting+led+36
Similar, but not the same. Some "brands" are better than others.

Many of the PIR replacements won't work in an LED fixture. Many of them are still designed for incandescent loads > 40 watts. The LEDs in that fixture are probably non-dim able, some of the motion sensors dim the light or fade up/down when they activate.
 
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nbstl68

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These are on\off. Not dimmable. They are very bright 36W panasonic bulbs. I was assuming the PIR function just turned the power on\off for anything connected to it but it sounds a little more complicated then. Unfortunate;y it is not as easy as just contacting the MFG as I am sure it is just a Chinese co that can't be reached as I cannot find any information for a direct like kind replacement and was hoping for a better quality PIR option as I really like the light itself.
 

tangent

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A lot of these sensors use triacs to switch the power, which dims the light a little and also have minimum wattage requirements. Some use relays which are a pure on/off and work with anything.
Most of replacement parts that would work with LED look just like the sensor you dislike, and have a dial to adjust how dark it has to be for it to turn on (some of these are only 12vdc).

There's a chance this Heath/Zenith would work (based on reviews), but most of their products are tirac based (manual specifies incandescent):
https://www.amazon.com/Sensor-Motion-Repl-180-Deg/dp/B00P6N98HC/
HZ does now have some LED products, but the manuals state no replacement parts available.

It looks like Hyperikon and some of the other brands use a different sensor. Which is why I suggested their product. You could see if they'll sell you a replacement part.
 
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nbstl68

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Thanks...So, I was reading the description and it says,
"...Adjustable range up to 70 ft., varies with surrounding temperature."

What do you think that means? What does surrounding temperature have to do with a PIR detecting motion?

Just trying to possibly put 2+2 together here but this light sits on a deck railing which is about 10 ft above a recently installed hot tub....which may coincide somewhat with when the sensor stopped functioning properly.
Could heat radiating from the hot tub, (it has a thermal cover) cause a PIR sensor to constantly stay on like it does most of the time?
(Doing a little Googling I've read PIR sensors track and trigger based on changes to heat sources and do tot detect or trigger from static heat sources, so I'd think this would not cause the issue.)
 

tangent

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Track is a bit of a stretch. They trip when you cross zones of the freznel lens. The hot tub isn't a constant temperature, it heats and cools some. It could be a factor, it's hard to say.
Heat sources have nothing to do with these turning on during the day. It's possible to mask part of the detector or turn/angle it differently.

You could also switch to something like a zwave light switch to control the fixture, bypass the motion sensor, and trigger the lights with other motion sensors connected to a home automation system. LED fixtures complicate this, it might not be viable. This would be an expensive but hopefully reliable option.

Even simply replacing the PIR as you were asking about is a bit more complicated as there's a new question: where is the power supply / led driver that converts 120v into lower voltage for the leds? You'd probably have to determine that experimentally (make sure it's powered with a gfci and don't attempt if you don't know what you're doing).
 
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