Outside Light with PIR and manual switched override - new unit?

[GrayS]

Hi,
New to the forums. Trying, and failing, to find a simple direct-equivalent replacement for an old outside light, with a PIR, that also has a manual switched override. So when switch is "off" then light is controlled by PIR, and when switch is "on" then light is permanently on. The PIR section is broken and the light is on permanently (the PIR seems to think there is always motion). I tried the "turn it off and back on again at the main circuit-breaker" trick to no avail. Happy to replace the unit, but it's 18 years old and I am having great difficulty finding a direct equivalent replacement unit.
The wiring should be like this:

The current (broken) unit is very similar to one of these:

Does anybody know of a make and model of outside light that is the same as what I currently have please? Nothing I can find has the same wiring and simple operation. The nearest vague-equivalents talk about "pulsed override" etc, which is not what I need.

Please help.
Newbie.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As long as you can get at the internal wiring and make a connection to where the PIR switched supply goes to the bulb you can wire it to do what you want. If the PIR doesn't use a relay to do the switching you should probably ask the maker if connecting live to the output will damage it, but they'd probably waffle on about invalidating the warranty. Can't see why it should damage it though.

You might do better with a separate PIR and light.

 

[JohnW2]

Does anybody know of a make and model of outside light that is the same as what I currently have please? Nothing I can find has the same wiring and simple operation. The nearest vague-equivalents talk about "pulsed override" etc, which is not what I need.

The "pulsed override" (which many/most seem to have) does not really matter. If the design and available connections are such that it can be done, you can simply have a 'wired' manual switch (along the lines that has been suggested) and ignore the "pulsed override" functionality.

It used to be pretty straightforward. In most such units, the PIR switched the mains supply to the lamp/bulb (usually with a relay - hence the quiet 'click' when the PIR detects movement) and a connection to that 'switched supply' was often made available (for adding additional lights) - and, as has been explained, applying mains voltage to that connection via a switch would provide manual override.

However, one now needs to be much more careful. An increasing number of these items now have 'integrated' (non-replaceable) LED lamps. These don't not necessarily 'switch' the mains at all, let alone provide access to the 'switched mains' feed to the LED.

You probably therefore need to look for a 'traditional' one, with a replaceable mains-voltage lamp/bulb, and which indicates that it is capable of switching significant loads (commonly about 1000W) - the latter suggesting that it has a relay switching the mains supply to the lamps/bulbs. One like this one - click here looks as if it should do the job (with wiring essentially the same as you illustrate).

KInd Regards, John

 

[securespark]

Timeguard or ASD usually have decent offerings:

http://www.discount-electrical.co.u...-es-gls-240v/7a3ef21c719852d3e8373f40cbe52907

https://asdlighting.com/products/guardlite/

EDIT: TOO SLOW!

 

[bernardgreen]

For a reliable, well made PIR sensor look at the Steinel ranges

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/STIS180B.html

not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

 

[JohnW2]

For a reliable, well made PIR sensor look at the Steinel ranges ....

Yes, they are good but, apart from anything else, the OP seems to want a PIR bulkhead fitting, not just a sensor.

.... not the cheapest but you get what you pay for.

Whilst that is generally true, I've usually got a good few years' satisfactory service out of ones costing no more than 20% of that price.

Whilst one does generally "get what one pays for", in some cases 'what one is paying for' is partially (or even largely) "a name"!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Sometimes absolute prices are more important than relative.

80% is a nice relative saving, but if the actuals are, for argument's sake, £40 and £8, and the 5x more expensive one lasted only 3x as long, it might not look like the expensive one was "worth it".

But some might think that paying £32 to save a trip up a ladder to replace a failed one was worth it.