Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Problem with new Track Light

I installet a new track under overhead cabinets to light a peninsula/island counter. The track is switched and has 3 track pendent lights - 40 watts each. The power is pulled from a double 20 amp circuit that also feeds the electric heat for the dining room. The power to the switch was originally a wall receptacle which was taken out. The problem is that the pendent lights don't work. I have followed the instructions regarding following the polarization indicator lines. My voltage indicator shows power in the track. The Romex cable is a 12/2 and is connected to an End Feed Connector on the track. The End Feed Connector, the track and the lights are all from the same manufacturer. Can anyone shed any "light" on the problem? :wall:

Thanks

Just to be sure here, is the heat in the dining room 120 volt or 240? From you description, there is apparently 120 volts but just want to be sure.


Track lights can be a pain sometimes.

make sure you have a neutral, hot, and ground hooked to the appropriate screw on the starter end.

Make sure you have 120 volts hot to neutral.

Sometimes when pushing in the starter piece, I have seen where the conductor inside the track was pushed away from the contact on the starter.

Some track light systems are multi circuit. The have one neutral conductor down the length of the strip and two hots on the opposite side.In these cases some of the heads can be set to contact either hot. If the head is not set correctly and you did not power the second circiuit, you would have no power to the light head.

It is 120 volts. Checked and rechecked to make sure all connections were proper. I'll recheck the set screw and make sure the feed connector is making full contact. If there is no power to the light head would the track still show that there is power in the track?

It would depend on what type of tester you are using.

If using an inductive (non contact) tester, there is sometimes enough induced (no actual contact required merely relative closeness of the conductors) voltage to trigger it. Same with the neon light testers and even a big buck digital high impedance tester can read induced but phantom or ghost voltages.

IF you can actually check to the conductors in the track (careful though, if the track is metal it will be grounded and cause a short if touched by a "hot" tester probe) would be the best way to be sure.

What is the brand and model of the track and heads.

(don't forget to put light bulbs in the pendants) If this is what happened, you do not need to tell us this. You would not be the first to do this.

If you are very careful, you can actually check the voltage at the lamp sockets as well. The shell is the neutral (or should be) and the center tab is the hot connector.

The tester was a simple circuit sensor. Nothing fancy yet just have to put the tester near. All units are Portfoli. Bulb in - I thought of that as well. Another question - this is switched would the indicator show power if the switch is in the off position? I installed another track and it works nice. This is a headache. I even took the lights back to the store and they tested them on their track. Worked fine and suggested I take the track back. Did that and still have the same problem.

Like I posted before, a non-contact tester (one where you put it near the power) can give false positive readings. They depend on the electromagnetic flux caused by the 60 hertz pulsations of the electricity. (not trying to speak above you, you can ignore that part if it makes no sense)

Just realize that this effect can cause wrong readings with a non contact tester.

If this is switched, a non contact tester may but probably not show power available. It depends on how sensative the tester is. That's why they have limited use to me.

If you replaced or had the lamp heads and the track looked at or checked, I would tend to look to the power source.

This is where it gets tough without a regular tester. While you my actuall have power to the track, you may not have a neural (white wire) connection all the way back to the electrical panel.

When you removed the recep you simply continued the hot (probably black or red) to one term on the track starter and the white to the another and the bare or green to the green screw in the starte.

BTW. the screws in the starter should probably be colored silver, brass, and green. The hot wire goes on the brass (or copper) colored screw, the neutral (white) on the silver screw and the ground (green or bare) on the green screw.

Is all OK with this?? Did the recep actually work before you removed it?

can you post the model numbers for the track and heads. I will see if I can find anything online that would help me direct you as to problems.

The recep did work. Secured white wire to silver and black wire to brass colored bare copper wire to green screw. The mode # of the feed connector = P38 "Electrical Feed", Item #225674. Track # = Model P4SL. 4 ft. Item #120834. Light = Model P569WH Item # 225641. The switch is a Lutron DV-600P Dimmer

Thnaks for your help

OK, I can't seem to find anything online using those numbers so we'll trudge on without that help.

I apologize if some of this seems simplistic or demeaning, I do not intend to mean it that way. It is just that there is probably a very simple explanation to this and is getting overlooked due to the nature of the interaction over the internet.
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Where you removed the recep; the connections should be;
incoming hot to one screw terminal on the switch. from the switch the other term should go to the brass screw (eventually) on the track starter.

The incoming white should just be wire nutted to the white wire that eventually goes to the silver screw on the track and the bare, incoming wire nutted to a tail from the ground screw on the dimmer and also to a wire that goes to the ground screw on the track starter.

I am guessing that is all correct but just want to cover everythign I can think of.

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re-check dimmer connection per the instructions
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if the lamps fit in the other track, swap one of the other lamp heads into this track and vice versa to verify anything we can
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A question; since I could not find the parts online, re these lamp heads low voltage?? The bulb will have a voltage printed on it.(or on the box it came in)

Is the other track identical to this one? Are you using a dimmer on it?

No need to apologize for anything you ask. It makes me redo my installation steps. I rechecked the installation of the switch. This switch is a single pole with two black wires. Power in black wire to one switch black wire, power out to the feed connector connected to the other black switch wire to brass screw of feed connector. Power in white to power out white to silver feed connector screw. All ground wire connected according to instructions. Unfortunately the other track I installed is from a different manufacturer and not compatable. the voltage per the box for the lights is 120. The bulb is a 40 watt halogen. On the other track I didn't put a dimmer because it is over the kitchen sink and we want the full lighting power. Starting to think that the switch maybe defective. Whether the switch is on or off i get power indicator but on the other track when the switch is off I don't get that reading but when on I obviously do. Your thoughts/ideas are appreciated.

I would install a non-dimmer switch to eliminate the possibility of the dimmer being bad..

If you dont have one laying around, you can pick one up for very little money. (if you are handy enough, you could "borrow one from another room")

This would eliminate the possibility of the dimmer.

Short of that, I am running out of ideas. It sounds like you are doing everything right but just not getting it to work. I would try the switch, after that................well, I am not sure what to do after that.:wall: :wall:

Just be sure to turn off the power to whatever circuit you are working on to be safe.

Just tried a new switch - non-dimmer - and it didn't work. I'm stumped. :wall: :wall: :confused: You get my drift. Thanks for all your suggestions. I really appreciate everything you said to try. I'll keep researching and if something works I'll keep you posted.

That would be great. I would like to know what comes of this.

Hi nap;
Just wanted to let you know I did some more work on the Track Lighting problem. I put a receptacle on the cable and the put a voltage meter to check the voltage. It read nothing so Idiscussed it with a friend and he concluted that the cable may have broke when I pulled it throught before taking the wall out. He said that it would act as if current were flowing but once it need the voltage to run something it would immediately drop to zero volts. So I was lucky that I could run a new cable up the wall with out too much effort and sure enough once I connected it the track worked like a charm. Thanks for your time and I hope my problem will help others when they think they have current and never think the cable might be the problem. :)

Fantastic. :thumbup:

That is why a knopp or wiggy (solenoid type voltage tester) is often recommended as a voltage tester. The non-contact type pick up very small amounts of power often refferred to as ghost or phantom voltage. It can even be read on some high impedance digital meters. The solenoid actually requires some real current to show voltage.


Glad to see you came up with another way to test this out and come to a solution. A real DIY'er with some smarts.