Some of my landscape lights stopped working. Where do I start?

Dear Hoping,

Start with the good news: lights that still come on tell you the transformer is at least sending power into the system. When one section goes dark, the trouble is often on that branch, not a reason to replace every fixture.

Turn off the transformer before touching connections. Then work from the last working light toward the first dark one. Check for a loose, corroded, or damaged connector and look for a cable nick where edging, planting, or recent digging happened. Our troubleshooting guide gives you a calm sequence if you want a fuller walk-through.

Next, isolate the simple things. If a fixture has a replaceable lamp, swap in one you know works. Inspect each connection for a wire that slipped out or a connector that never made a solid bite. A single failed connection can leave every fixture downstream in the dark, which feels dramatic but is usually more fixable than it looks.

If the branch comes back weak or only the far fixtures remain dark, check whether a long run and its load are contributing to voltage drop. A simple low-voltage meter can confirm what reaches the first dark fixture, but you do not need to begin there. First find the point where working becomes not working.

If you find damaged buried cable, make a proper weatherproof repair before reburying it. If every connection looks sound and the fault is elusive, that is a reasonable point to bring in a qualified installer. You have not failed the test; you have narrowed the mystery, which is how these systems get solved.

— Ray