The question I'm asking is, can you get the LED to light up with the puckbuck only? For the moment forget the light switch.

 

OK, here is how I would connect it. You gave a casual mention to the light sensor being encapsulated, is this a store bought item, or did you build it and pour epoxy over it?

 

The question I'm asking is, can you get the LED to light up with the puckbuck only? For the moment forget the light switch.

yes, it will light up.

 

OK, here is how I would connect it. You gave a casual mention to the light sensor being encapsulated, is this a store bought item, or did you build it and pour epoxy over it?

It was given to me, but it looks homemade. the cap's and contactor/relay were in heat shrink, I cut it off to try and troubleshoot it. I can take a picture if you like. The caps. and wires were soldered straight to the pins on the relay. The transistor, photoresistor, and resistor and in the clear acrylic, it also looks homemade.

 

Bill, thanks a million for the schematic, looks great, you mentioned in another post that the resistor at the photo sensor needs to be adjustable correct?

 

That's the way I'd do it, but then again, if it works then that's good enough.

I'm thinking that you need to set it for the area it is going to be, you don't really want this on during a dark cloudy (or raining) day, or going with the other extreme, off during a bright moonlight night. The difference between these extremes is wide enough that a variable isn't really needed, but I have no way of predicting what the resistor you need should be. If I were designing from scratch I'd probably use a 100KΩ pot.

I'd test each section or module separately, if one doesn't work then you work on that section, then merge them later. If you decide the photocell section needs rebuilt there are a couple of minor changes I'd make, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The thing that always drives me nuts with outdoor type electronics is weatherization. You have much experience with that?

 

I have no experience at all, as of yet I have not given it a whole lot of thought, one obstacle at a time, if/when these light come on in my shop when I turn the lights off, there will be a short celebration and then I will start on the next wall, My feeder has a box on the bottom where the motor controls are, I have visions of this stuff being in there and using the same battery. If that doesn't work, start on plan B, which is unknown, plan C will be next which is go to hardware store and by a solar powered light and stick it out there.