Outside our back door is a self-contained light with PIR movement detector. There are no controls for daylight sensitivity or timer duration on the outside of the light unit; those values are pre-set at the factory. It's powered by a wire coming through the brick wall. On the indoors end of the wire is a switch which makes or breaks the Live feed. The Neutral feed is permanently connected. We leave the indoor switch on all the time. The outdoor light comes on during the hours of darkness when it detects movement. It stays on for around 4 minutes and then switches off. It's a "Coach Lantern 110deg PIR LBLP091".
Over the last few weeks I have put up a canopy over the patio; something like this www.amazon.co.uk/Primrose-White-Veranda-Garden-Canopy/dp/B0773TBHZR
At the weekend I fitted three non-sensor lights, one each on the three supporting pillars. I have connected each of the lights to a junction box fixed to the wall of the house above the existing PIR light, and taken a feed to the junction box from the connections behind the existing light. I have put a switch in the Live side of the feed to the junction box.
I'd have liked to have swapped the 1-gang switch indoors for a 2-gang switch, so I could switch the PIR light power and the non-sensor lights on and off independently, but the existing switch isn't in line with the PIR light so tapping the single feed outdoors seems to be the easier option.
I would expect that the outdoor switch would simply switch the new pillar lights on and off like a, y'know, light switch; and that the existing PIR would continue to function as before.
What actually happens is this:
1. When the outdoor switch is Off, the PIR light triggers by movement after dark and turns on all four lights (existing and new) for 4 minutes.
2. When the outdoor switch is switched On, all four lights come on and stay on.
Why??
Too Long, Didn't Read:
I've installed a switch and some non-sensor lights taking their power from the same feed as a PIR sensor light. Now all the lights are operated by the PIR sensor, and the PIR light is operated by the switch. Can't work out why.
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