# Light setup failure, help please.



## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

So I just spent the last 4 hours of my life putting together this setup, and basically running around town to 9 different stores to get all of the parts I needed.

Generator: http://www.harborfreight.com/http-w...c-portable-inverter-generator-61169-html.html

Knock off of a Honda etc, It ran two of the same brand shop lights that were both 1000 watts each @ 8amps perfectly. However I need three lights since I'm missing fish near the shore lines I need one in the center and two angled out left and right on the corners.

So today I bought the same brand of shop light but in 500 watts and 3.9 amps each "brand: http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-halogen-shop-light-61576.html"

The factory cable of the cord was 16g- I cut off the outlet connector and connected 14g extension cord using crimping and heat shrink technique with some added liquid electrical tape on all the ends and then wrapped back with regular electrical tape "pic attached- 

^^^ This section of electrical cord was exactly 7ft long


Next I ran all 3 cables to a waterproof junction box where I have a 9ft 14g extension cord with plug coming in.

I ran all greens together, blacks whites and put them on with large waterproof connectors- that have the silicone/grease inside. and even coated the bottoms with liquid electrical tape. 

Started up Genny, let it run for a minute or two plugged it in "OVERLOAD" immediate shut off.

Plugged in the "2" 1000 watt each lights to genny and they light up as normal "also 16awg"

pics attached, I'm no electrician and I basically took the advice from a guy at home depot "thinking this was a very bad decision now as I had planned to run two lights together and one separate" 

Pics attached, any help would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance.


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## bdyboarder86 (Apr 25, 2013)

too much current on 1 circuit?


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

I thought the 14g wire is good for 15amps, and if the lights are drawing 3.9amps per light that is 11.7amps.

Close yes, but this is so confusing since you can run two 1000 watt lights putting 8 amps each on 18awg wire 16amps today, how?


So riddle me this: 

http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-watt-twin-lamp-halogen-floodlight-66439.html

^^ Is the product that runs fine on my generator, each light has a sticker on the side the clearly states 1000watts 8amps, this is on each individual light.

Now this is taken from the description from the website. 

"Dual 500 Watt lamps swivel independently for precise light placement"

So that's telling me the lights are 500 watts each and not 1000 as marked and 4 amps each-3.9/4.0


But still not understanding why it wont run on 14g wire rated for 15amps. if drawing a max of 12amps/3 lights.


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## bdyboarder86 (Apr 25, 2013)

no idea im not an electrcian but i have had problems like that in the past when hooking up light to a junction box and it was bc of too much current on a single circuit.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

Anyone else with more experience care to put there two cents in, I'm thinking bdyboarder86 is correct, but still the math isn't adding up. would 3 amps below max really overload the circuit?


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## rcc (Mar 31, 2009)

If I'm understanding right you have a total of 2500 watts in lights and the generator will only do 2500 peak. Your peak wattage at startup probably well exceeds the max of the generator. 18 gauge I think is too small, but should work ok to test. 14 gauge back to generator may should be bigger as well.

I could be reading this wrong. Do you have 3 500 watt lights or 2, 1000s and 1 500?

If you have 3, 500s disconnect them one at a time and check it, because either you have one or more of them bad or a wiring problem.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

3 500 watt lights drawing 3.9/4 amps each on 14g 15amp rated extension cord.


However I did have to splice the 14g extension cord into the 18awg wire near the light itself.

Note: In the picture of the junction box the 3 14g extension cords are ran 7ft exactly and spliced into the stock cord which is believe is 16g. Yes 16 not 18.


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## The Maintenance Shoppe (Nov 5, 2007)

Its not the wire, you are overloading the generator circuits.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

how am I doing that? what's the fix? It's only 1500 watts and 12amps..

my generator is rated for 2200 and 18amps.


please explain, appreciated.


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## Flounder9.75 (Sep 28, 2007)

Sounds like the gen. Might be over rated. Try the 2 and 1 and plugging them in separate.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

10/4 will give it a shot in the am.



Need to get back out there getting these bad boys 


EDIT: disregard funny face I'm in PT for shoulder and they were heavy haha, I'm 5'8 and 195 pictures don't do them justice!


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## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

Definitely overloading the generator. My Honda 2000 is only rated for 13 amps. Might I suggest you step down to four 300 watt Halos. I ran this setup for a while and never had any problems and had plenty of light. Or if you wanna stick with the Genny setup you can swap to HPS and solve all of overload problems. I run 4 150's and can't be happier. My next upgrade will be a DC setup with LEDs for some peace and quiet when I want it. Gonna have my boat setup where I can swap between AC and DC.


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## dsar592 (Oct 12, 2007)

I agree that you are overloading your generator. Is the 2200 watts the peak wattage or does it have a surge wattage etc. I would turn on one light at a time and see what it does. You can also replace those bulbs with say 2-500 watts and 1-250 watt if that will work. You might need to play with it to find out which will work the best. Nice fish by the way!!!


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

the generator is rated for 2500 max, and 2200 continuous watts and a max of 18amps.


How am I over loading the generator? with 1500 watts and 11.7amps????


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

> my generator is rated for 2200 and 18amps.


Really? Here is another problem and you can confirm this by looking at the spec's of a Honda 2000

The manual for that generator is deceiving and not unusual for these "Knock-off" generators.

It says:

Output
120VAC, 60Hz, 1 Phase
12VDC, 8.3A (nominal)
2200W Running
2500W Peak


But it does not give the amperage beside 2200W running or 2500W Peak.

Now on the "Product Overview" it list's amperage as 18.3

I'm betting that 18.3 is for the peak.

Furthermore I been thru the knock-off generator deal...In the end...It was a waste of $600. 

It was a 2000W unit from Pep Boys....Honda knock-off, But it could not preform like the Honda.

It couldn't start all 4- 150 HPS,s at one time, It was louder, It burned more gas because it had to run WFO.

Now...I'll be the first to critic your wiring.....It Sucks!

You have cut the cords all up and cobbled the lights together.

1 of these and just plug in.











Furthermore it would help you to easily plug and unplug a light to diagnose the problem.


If this is what you want to run? I'd fix the cord problem....put 14ga cords on all lights. Buy extension cords with sealed ends....Cut the Female end off and hard wire the other end INSIDE the light like it was factory.

Then I'd also pick up some 300 watt halagon bulbs to replace the 500 watt bulbs.

I had to do this in the past. You will really not notice the difference in light output....But it will make your generator live.

It's my assumption that there is a lot of hype written in the spec's of these Knock-off generators.....This is from experience and seeing others having some of the same problems......Until they went with a Honda.

The objective of people is to do it as cheap as possible....I'm guilty also. But what I've learned is .....In the end it costs more to go cheap, due to having to spend the money twice to get the final results that your after......All this....Just to chase Flat fish.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Get an ampmeter and there will be no question to why, what or whatever is causing the problem. Yes i have one where are you located?


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## wareagle22 (Oct 3, 2007)

You need to find someone with an Amprobe to check the amp draw. I bet the in rush of current trying to start those lights is what's causing it. I've never been a fan of those crimp type wire connectors. I would have put a terminal strip in your junction box and soldered the connections. Every one of those connectors adds resistance to the circuit and will probably get HOT eventually. And I bet that 15 amp breaker on the genny trips at less than 15 amps. I had one that would trip at 13.5 amps even though it said 15 amp on it. They can put whatever numbers they want on those gennys but the truth being, it will NOT handle the load they say they will.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Most all generators are rated at surge amps. His setup has no surge just a constant currant drain from to many bulbs. Plain and simple too much current draw. Answer, bigger genny or less bulbs. And yes good connections and proper size wire. Bigger IS better in this case.


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## rcc (Mar 31, 2009)

Thought he ran 2 1kw lights with no problems. If so, he sould be 500watts under what he has already checked on the generator. Just plug the 3 500's into a house outlet. If it trips, you got bad wiring or a bad light.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

Hooked 3 lights up today two on one cord and one on a separate line, runs fine.

I appreciate the help, but spewing out random numbers and possibilities really doesn't get anyone anywhere. Even if my cheap generator breaks at 13.5amps I'm still 2amps under that running 3 500watt halogens. 

Generator runs same idle as it did with two 500 watt lights as it did with 3, not idle, but slightly ramped up.

problem solved, putting it together now.

EDIT: That sounded like I was meaning it in a really a$$hole'ish manner, probably because I'm slightly frustrated but didn't mean it to come off that way.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Removed...Nice day if it doesn't rain.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

Removing interweb drama.


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## bamafan611 (Mar 1, 2010)

jtrump, you sure didn't make any friends with that response. The guys you are calling trolls are some of the smartest folks out there//sealark, Xshark.They were just trying to help and sometimes with what they know it's hard to grasp what they are telling you. I don't believe responding to your post and offering help relates to them being trolls. Just good folks. Glad you got her up and running. Water is starting to clear.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

The purple cow jumped over the moon.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Removed, blame it on bad fishing conditions.


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## jhamilton226 (Oct 1, 2010)

Since he asked for it I'll troll him some so you guys can blame it on me  good luck with that knock-off genny lasting more then a few seasons







seriously, you just let off a rant directed at some of the best knowledge in the flounder game around here so congrats on your social skills...ask for help then yell at people when they offer suggestions...and you say they're the ones who weren't INFORMATIVE


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## TRG (Jun 30, 2012)

Just to add to the technical part of this thread the math for amperage is watts divided by volts = amps. 
2200 watts @ 120 volts=18.3 amps
The lower the voltage the more amps drawn. Especially generators may produce 120 volts with no load but when (lights) or load is applied voltage may drop considerably. 

Everybody have a great day.

Tom


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

My waterproof junction box.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

jhamilton226 said:


> Since he asked for it I'll troll him some so you guys can blame it on me  good luck with that knock-off genny lasting more then a few seasons
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Done here to.


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Come on fellas I know the water sucks right now and we all want to get back to sticking some fish so let's just be peaceful. It's just about to get good enough to start killing some. Check the water today and it was good enough where I checked so I'll get back to hunting some fatties next week.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

TRG said:


> Just to add to the technical part of this thread the math for amperage is watts divided by volts = amps.
> 2200 watts @ 120 volts=18.3 amps
> The lower the voltage the more amps drawn. Especially generators may produce 120 volts with no load but when (lights) or load is applied voltage may drop considerably.
> 
> ...



Tom, you are absolutely correct. I am running 1500 watts so 11.7 to 12amps.


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## wareagle22 (Oct 3, 2007)

Well, being I've been a licensed industrial electrician for 20 years, I'd like to know what YOU think your problem was??? That generator only has one circuit breaker on it so it doesn't matter if you plug one cord in or two with the same devices on the other end. You still have the same wattage on the receptacle on the generator. And if you read the reviews on that generator, tripping at lower than advertised ratings are a pretty common occurrence.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

There was a short in one of the lights. 5 minute fix, running all 3 off 1x14g cord-15 feet to one recep.

There are bad reviews of the generator and good reviews with people running pretty heavy loads with little to no problem. I couldn't spring for the Honda generator as I just purchased the boat/motor/trailer brand new all for gigging since there were no deals on used items in the area.

I've got a 3 year warranty on this thing, if it runs my lights for three years with as much use as I plan to put it through them I'll be happy for the $499 price tag. SPL/RS endorsement = a lot of generator use.


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## wareagle22 (Oct 3, 2007)

There are good and bad reviews on all generators nowadays. My buddy has a Honda knockoff and has never had any trouble out of. Congrats on getting your setup working. Maybe our water will clear up where we can go.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

I'm now on the east coast, we have great water clarity as of late, however typical wind is 10+ knots and sometimes up to 20 during the day stirs the water up abit. 

Near the inlets water looks like it was ran in a bathtub, but so heavily fished.

Here is a picture from two nights ago, probably the dirtiest water I've seen in awhile back up on the creeks, fish was about 2 ft deep and 24" long.


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## Ga Transplant (Feb 26, 2012)

Not to keep piling on, but it definitely sounds like a generator issue and not the wiring you did. you may want to run them to individual switches, then you can turn them on/off one at a time in whatever combination you need. I'd also back off to 300 watt lights, that should be more than enough to light the area. Fish-on. GT


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

It was a short, the ground wire and either the black or white one of them had got tugged on hard somehow and pulled out of the crimp/heat shrink and were touching, hence it was shorting out the series of lights. All works fine now with 500 watts and one 14g cord..


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Glad you got your Genny straightened out. :thumbup::thumbup:


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

That fkn purple cow and the moon again or something.


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## PurpleNGold (Mar 15, 2011)

jtrump said:


> wow 20 years in the navy and you still can't spell, did you even make E-5 because you're writing evals after that how did you manage to do that for so many years? must have been a painstaking process for sure!
> 
> congrats on gigging 50 15" flounder, I hear it's rocket science.. You wait for conditions to be right, and fish incoming tide way to complicated for us simple minded folk. Man I've never seen that many fish in my life.
> 
> PS. You did a fine job trying to put together sentences and using punctuation in you're last post I give you props, but remember when addressing someone by there name it gets capitalized "Trump". All in all 2.0 not recommended for advancement.


^^^^Hypocritical^^^^


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

Hook, line, sinker, all the way to the swivel you guys just keep on biting. To bad flounder gigging isn't this easy amirite?:yes::yes::yes:


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Give it a rest fellas.


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## jhamilton226 (Oct 1, 2010)

jtrump said:


> Obviously you may also need to attend a reading comprehension class of sorts. Now look the below will be in English, and broken down so it's easy for you to understand.
> 
> 
> I did not mention one thing bad towards anyone else in the thread except the guy who wanted to post a stupid comment and flex his interweb muscles.
> ...


Cute... I read every post on here...and you still sound like a douche :notworthy: enjoy the east coast fishing and glad you're there and not over here...I would hate you fishing the beaches I share with all of the decent fellas on here! Good luck


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## LopeAlong (May 23, 2011)

jhamilton226 said:


> Cute... I read every post on here...and you still sound like a douche :notworthy: enjoy the east coast fishing and glad you're there and not over here...I would hate you fishing the beaches I share with all of the decent fellas on here! Good luck


Did DFA change his screen name?

Here's what I'd do. Find out if it's the lights or the genny. Plug the lights into the house outlet. That'll tell you where to start


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## bamafan611 (Mar 1, 2010)

Like Elliot said. Let it go, not worth 5 pages.

Did DFA change his screen name? Now thats funny.


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## jhamilton226 (Oct 1, 2010)

haha no no I'm not DFA fellas! Sorry, couldn't resist, I rarely jump into these kind of frays but the way this guy went off on folks after asking for their help and opinions just rubbed me wrong is all...really wasn't going to say much else but then he started getting personal about people's educations and such...so yeah, I had to say my peace  but you fellas should know from my posts I'm here for the fishing first and foremost!!! And, I mean, some of it does make for a fun read...the anonymity of the PC world brings out the bully in all of us sometimes, myself included :thumbdown: now, back to fishing :thumbsup:


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## Death From Above (Sep 28, 2007)

LopeAlong said:


> Did DFA change his screen name?
> 
> Here's what I'd do. Find out if it's the lights or the genny. Plug the lights into the house outlet. That'll tell you where to start


 Great to see a few more assholes on this forum. :yes:


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## flounderslayerman (Jun 3, 2011)

Death From Above said:


> Great to see a few more assholes on this forum. :yes:


But youre still the biggest asshole on pff !!! :thumbdown


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

jhamilton226 said:


> haha no no I'm not DFA fellas! Sorry, couldn't resist, I rarely jump into these kind of frays but the way this guy went off on folks after asking for their help and opinions just rubbed me wrong is all...really wasn't going to say much else but then he started getting personal about people's educations and such...so yeah, I had to say my peace  but you fellas should know from my posts I'm here for the fishing first and foremost!!! And, I mean, some of it does make for a fun read...the anonymity of the PC world brings out the bully in all of us sometimes, myself included :thumbdown: now, back to fishing :thumbsup:




Still you find the need to post, and STILL can't comprehend that I wasn't bad mouthing anyone but the idiot who told me to " fix the damn thing myself, since I was spewing random numbers, which I did not, he also had a reading comprehension problem."

go back and read it 20 more times maybe you will put the puzzle together.

And by the way it's not trolling when you specifically say I'm going to troll you.. kinda comical, just saying.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

LopeAlong said:


> Did DFA change his screen name?
> 
> Here's what I'd do. Find out if it's the lights or the genny. Plug the lights into the house outlet. That'll tell you where to start



Problem was fixed several days ago, I forget who asked but it ended up being a short in one of the lights that I found when testing each light individually to the generator. Knock of generator worked fine powered the lights fine, I bought a Honda anyway simply because its slightly quieter and about 20 something pounds lighter.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Hey Trump this has gone far enough. If i rubbed you the wrong way I apoligise. Hope you have a great day.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

I just deleated my posts.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

Sounds good sir, I'd delete the whole thread but I do not see the option for it.

but I guess it can stay up if anyone else has a similar problem. 

TLDR: If you have a similar problem test each light individually to the generator first to see if you can find the problem child, it could be something as simple as a short. If that's not the problem look into other things such as the generator possibly being over max capacity, to small of wiring etc.


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## GIggaMon (Sep 29, 2010)

Kids these days lol :thumbup:


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

sealark said:


> Glad you got your Genny straightened out. :thumbup::thumbup:




I guess id rather gig that many flounder then 2 that go 10lbs and 4 that go 2lbs if I was commercial.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

I couldn't remove the picture from my cell it will be gone soon as I get to computer.


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## jtrump (May 26, 2014)

No the picture was nice, in fact I was slightly jealous


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