# Motion light



## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

I’m having trouble looking for a motion sensor led light for my application.. 

It needs to mount below a deck , same as under an eave angle so it needs to have a motion sensor that also faces forward with the lights...

Most of the motions get blocked by the lights heads when trying to get a forward facing angle with the lights and sensor. 

The second restriction is that its mounting under a deck with water dripping right on it so it needs the round base to mount tightly to a round weather proof box.. a lot of these fixtures now have odd-shaped bases.

Any suggestions 


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## Glock23gp (Mar 10, 2014)

WronGun said:


> I’m having trouble looking for a motion sensor led light for my application..
> 
> It needs to mount below a deck , same as under an eave angle so it needs to have a motion sensor that also faces forward with the lights...
> 
> ...


Remote the motion sensor seperate from the light, then use a seperate box with a normal led fixture

Use a hub mounted fixture like this with a cover that fits your box with multiple threaded hubs.




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## Drsparky14 (Oct 22, 2016)

WronGun said:


> I’m having trouble looking for a motion sensor led light for my application..
> 
> It needs to mount below a deck , same as under an eave angle so it needs to have a motion sensor that also faces forward with the lights...
> 
> ...




Costco has some good led motion lights that fit your description 


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

Drsparky14 said:


> Costco has some good led motion lights that fit your description
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Yes those are nice (Home Zone) I use this but they won’t work with this application. The base on those is slightly larger than a standard round. I use these on vinyl plates. 


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Wrongun, if I understand correctly your problem is with a ceiling mount the lights are in the way of the sensor, you can't aim it the way you want. 

You can roll your own, just put the sensor on one round box and pipe to one or more boxes and put the lights on the other round boxes. 

Edit - if you have to you can even parallel more than one motion sensor so either or both will turn on the lights.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

splatz said:


> Wrongun, if I understand correctly your problem is with a ceiling mount the lights are in the way of the sensor, you can't aim it the way you want.
> 
> You can roll your own, just put the sensor on one round box and pipe to one or more boxes and put the lights on the other round boxes.
> 
> Edit - *if you have to you can even parallel more than one motion sensor so either or both will turn on the lights*.


:thumbup:

I have had great results with this, very happy customers.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

I always hated the way RAB uses that oversized odd shaped plate. But they include a metal plate to put behind it with a gasket so if you silicone it there should be no problem. Or just remove the heads and motion sensor and install them in a round plate with 3 threaded hubs. 

I have never paralleled outdoor motion sensor lights. I know that the instructions say you can wire multiple lights to one sensor, but I don't believe they say that multiple sensors can be wired to the same lights. When doing that indoors I would use a RIB.


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

I like the idea of making my own and these odd shapes based screw me up... Water is going to be flowing down on the back of the box , need a tight seal 


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

WronGun said:


> I’m having trouble looking for a motion sensor led light for my application..
> 
> It needs to mount below a deck , same as under an eave angle so it needs to have a motion sensor that also faces forward with the lights...
> 
> ...


Outdoor motion sensors and beam detectection devices from the ADI store with output to an alarm panel, which closes a contact and turns on some standard floodlights with round base and a round wp bell box for the j-box. 

Walk into the ADI store and the counterman can fix you up with all the ingrediments


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

HackWork said:


> I always hated the way RAB uses that oversized odd shaped plate. But they include a metal plate to put behind it with a gasket so if you silicone it there should be no problem. Or just remove the heads and motion sensor and install them in a round plate with 3 threaded hubs.
> 
> I have never paralleled outdoor motion sensor lights. I know that the instructions say you can wire multiple lights to one sensor, *but I don't believe they say that multiple sensors can be wired to the same lights.* When doing that indoors I would use a RIB.


Never had an instance like a back storage yard with several gates the customer wanted several flood lights on when someone entered the space?

Why would you need a relay for interior lights?

You thinking of the amperage of multiple fixtures?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

WronGun said:


> I like the idea of making my own and these odd shapes based screw me up... Water is going to be flowing down on the back of the box , need a tight seal


If you're nervous about the water, maybe use PVC and glue in the plugs. You could also mount a piece of plywood joist to joist and mount the box under that. You could get 3M vinyl mastic sheets and put a patch of that over the plugs.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I think @*HackWork* 's idea was that a relay would parallel these safely, but you'd need to put the relay indoors. (I am not sure if that helps - even with a relay the sensors are still be in parallel on the coil; they are however no longer carrying the lighting load, just the coil load.) 
@*macmikeman* 's idea goes a step further and uses an alarm panel which can keep the sensors on separate inputs controlling the same output. 

I think the RAB are actually officially OK to wire in parallel but "not recommended" because troubleshooting can be difficult. 

https://www.rabweb.com/product.php?product=STL200 

So all that relay / controller voodo is not necessary.


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## 3DDesign (Oct 25, 2014)

HackWork said:


> I always hated the way RAB uses that oversized odd shaped plate. But they include a metal plate to put behind it with a gasket so if you silicone it there should be no problem. Or just remove the heads and motion sensor and install them in a round plate with 3 threaded hubs.
> 
> I have never paralleled outdoor motion sensor lights. I know that the instructions say you can wire multiple lights to one sensor, but I don't believe they say that multiple sensors can be wired to the same lights. When doing that indoors I would use a RIB.


If you read the instructions for the RAB motion sensor, that metal plate is only used with surface mount boxes.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

3DDesign said:


> If you read the instructions for the RAB motion sensor, that metal plate is only used with surface mount boxes.


Yes, which the OP has.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Never had an instance like a back storage yard with several gates the customer wanted several flood lights on when someone entered the space?
> 
> Why would you need a relay for interior lights?
> 
> You thinking of the amperage of multiple fixtures?


It's not that you need it, but I never thought it was right to backfeed a motion sensor from another one. Low voltage was just the typical way it was speced and I followed suit when doing it myself.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

HackWork said:


> It's not that you need it, but I never thought it was right to backfeed a motion sensor from another one. Low voltage was just the typical way it was speced and I followed suit when doing it myself.


You raise an interesting point. 

I've done it for so long and it worked and never had any problems with the sensors so it became SOP for that type install.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HackWork said:


> It's not that you need it, but I never thought it was right to backfeed a motion sensor from another one. Low voltage was just the typical way it was speced and I followed suit when doing it myself.





MechanicalDVR said:


> You raise an interesting point.
> 
> I've done it for so long and it worked and never had any problems with the sensors so it became SOP for that type install.


It makes sense to think twice about putting them in parallel but Rab says it's OK, so buy Rab or another one that allows it and you're all set. (Rab is probably the easiest decent quality brand to find around here anyway.) 

If you really wanted to isolate them you'd need two relays and put the contacts in parallel powering the lights.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

splatz said:


> It makes sense to think twice about putting them in parallel but Rab says it's OK, so buy Rab or another one that allows it and you're all set. (Rab is probably the easiest decent quality brand to find around here anyway.)
> 
> If you really wanted to isolate them you'd need two relays and put the contacts in parallel powering the lights.


Not sure if it was luck of the draw or a territorial thing but RAB was the brand I used most.


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