If your landscape lighting isn’t working, start at the GFCI outlet that feeds the transformer. Press TEST, confirm the power drops, then press RESET. A tripped GFCI takes out everything downstream of it at once, and it’s the one cause you can rule out in a minute without tools, so it’s worth clearing first.
After that, the pattern tells you where to look. Everything dark points at shared power. One section dark points at a splice or a length of cable. One fixture dark points at that fixture and its own connector.
Why is my landscape lighting not working at all?
When every light goes out together, the problem sits upstream of the lighting itself. Work through the shared power in this order:
- Press TEST on the outdoor GFCI receptacle and confirm power to the transformer stops.
- Press RESET and check the lights.
- Check the panel for a tripped breaker.
- Confirm the timer or photocell is actually calling for light.
- Look at the transformer for damage, loose leads, and a tripped breaker or blown fuse on the unit itself.
One thing that catches people: the GFCI protecting that outlet might not be the outlet itself. Protection can come from a device in the garage, on a patio, or on another exterior wall. If the outdoor receptacle has no buttons, go hunting for the one that does.
Reset a breaker or a GFCI once. If it trips straight back, stop. Something’s faulting, and repeated resets don’t fix a fault.
| What you see | Check here first | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Every fixture dark | GFCI, breaker, transformer input | Power is gone before the lighting runs |
| One whole run dark | First splice past the last working light | An open connection or cut cable |
| A single fixture dark | That lamp, socket, and its connector | A local failure, not a system one |
| Lights on the wrong schedule | Timer setting and photocell | A control problem, not a wiring one |
| Far fixtures dim, near ones fine | Connections along the run | Resistance or voltage drop |
| It only trips when it rains | Outdoor receptacle and wet splices | Moisture reaching a connection |
Why did only some of my landscape lights go out?
Walk the run and find the last fixture that still works. Everything downstream of an open connection loses power together, so the fault sits between that fixture and the first dark one.
Direct-burial cable sits shallow. A shovel or an edger finds it easily, and so does anything driven into the ground, so recent yard work is a real clue. Look for fresh soil, new plantings, or irrigation trenching along the cable route.
Dim is a different symptom than dark. A corroded connection adds resistance, and resistance eats voltage before it reaches the far end of the run. Fixtures nearest the transformer stay bright while the ones at the end fade.
Swapping every lamp won’t fix an open splice. Test the run before you buy parts.
Is it the transformer, the timer, or the photocell?
Put the timer in its manual-on position. If the lights come up, the wiring is fine and you have a schedule or sensor problem. If they stay dark, the trouble is further in.
A photocell only knows how much light reaches its sensor. A porch light, a streetlight, or a neighbor’s floodlight can hold the system off well past sunset. Mulch, leaf litter, and overgrown plantings do the opposite by blocking the sensor.
A transformer can have power coming in and still fail to deliver it. That’s a testing question, not a looking question, and it’s where electrical repair and diagnostics earn their keep.
What salt air and summer rain do to buried connections
Water gets into connectors that have stopped sealing. Corrosion builds on the copper, resistance climbs, and the run starts dimming or drops out entirely.
The same weather works on the line-voltage side. The outdoor receptacle, its cover, and its screws all corrode, and a failing receptacle can trip in every storm. Our guide to corroded outdoor outlets covers what that looks like before it fails.
A fixture that looks dry tells you nothing about the splice buried behind it. That’s why the last working fixture stays the best place to start.
Can I fix landscape lighting myself in Florida, or does it need a licensed electrician?
Florida’s answer turns on how the system connects to the house. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation puts the starting point plainly:
“Yes. If you are not licensed as an electrical or alarm contractor, you must have a limited energy (low voltage) specialty license unless the system falls under the following exemption:”
That exemption is in the statute. Florida Statutes 489.503 lists who the electrical contracting law does not apply to, and subsection (24) is the last item on that list:
“A person who installs low-voltage landscape lighting that contains a factory-installed electrical cord with plug that does not require installation, wiring, or other modification to the electrical wiring of a structure.”
Read the two conditions together. The system needs a factory-installed cord and plug, and the work can’t modify the structure’s wiring. Miss either one and the carve-out doesn’t apply.
So the same “my lights are out” call splits in two. Changing a fixture, remaking a buried splice, or swapping a plug-in transformer on an existing outlet stays on the low-voltage side. Hardwiring a transformer, adding or moving the outdoor receptacle that feeds it, running a new circuit, or anything back at the panel is licensed electrical work.
Worth noting the statute says “installs.” It doesn’t declare every repair exempt. If your fix sits near that line, confirm the scope before you hire anyone.
Do I need a permit for landscape lighting repair in Hillsborough County?
Maybe not, and this is the one electrical item on the county’s exempt list. Every condition in the wording has to hold:
“Low-voltage systems: The installation or repair of a low-voltage system in an existing single-family residence when the work is performed by the property owner or the work is performed by a non-owner, provided the total cost of labor and materials does not exceed $5,000”
The same split shows up again. A 120-volt receptacle or a new circuit isn’t low-voltage work, so it isn’t covered by that exemption. Florida’s HB 803 residential permit exemption doesn’t help either, since it excludes electrical work outright.
When a job touches both sides of the transformer, confirm the permit path with the county rather than assuming the low-voltage exemption carries the whole project.
Does the outdoor outlet feeding the transformer need GFCI protection?
Yes. Florida is on the 2020 National Electrical Code through the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), and that edition reads:
“All 125-volt through 250-volt receptacles installed in the locations specified in 210.8(A)(1) through (A)(11) and supplied by single-phase branch circuits rated 150 volts or less to ground shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection for personnel.”
Outdoors is location (3) on that list in the 2020 edition. The 9th Edition of the Florida Building Code takes effect December 31, 2026.
This is also why a healthy transformer can look dead. Pressing TEST should cut power to whatever is plugged in. If the button clicks and the load stays on, that device has failed its own test and needs replacing. Where Florida code requires GFCI protection walks through the rest of the house, and GFCI outlet installation covers the swap.
What does landscape lighting repair cost in Tampa Bay?
An electrical repair including the diagnostic visit runs $150 to $450. Where it lands depends on what failed and how much of the run has to come apart.
Nobody can quote a landscape lighting repair honestly without seeing it. Resetting a control is not the same job as tracing a cut cable across a yard, and a receptacle or circuit problem moves the work to the line-voltage side entirely.
For scale on the other end, most residential landscape lighting projects here run $2,500 to $8,000. That’s a project number, not a repair number. If the system is old enough that you’re fixing it every season, our Tampa landscape lighting ideas covers what a designed replacement involves.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my landscape lights suddenly stop working?
Check the GFCI receptacle feeding the transformer first, then the breaker, then the timer and photocell. When everything goes dark at once, the cause is something all the fixtures share.
Why does only part of my landscape lighting work?
Find the last fixture that still lights. Everything past an open connection goes dark together, so the fault sits between it and the first dark one, in a splice, a connector, or a damaged length of cable.
Can rain make landscape lighting stop working?
Yes. Moisture reaching a worn connector or a corroded outdoor receptacle can open the circuit or trip the GFCI, which is why some systems fail only during storms.
Should I replace the transformer when every light goes dark?
Not until you’ve confirmed power is actually reaching it. A tripped GFCI, a tripped breaker, or a photocell holding the system off all look exactly like a dead transformer.
Can a landscaper repair low-voltage lights in Florida?
It depends on the work. Florida’s exemption describes plug-in systems that don’t modify a structure’s wiring, so anything involving hardwiring, receptacles, new circuits, or the panel falls outside it.
How do I know if my transformer is hardwired or plugged in?
Look at how it connects to the house. A cord running to an outdoor receptacle is plug-in; conduit or cable running into the wall means it’s hardwired, and that puts the work on the licensed side.
Get help finding what failed
Tampa Electrical Pro connects homeowners with licensed and insured electricians across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. The electricians in the network can test the low-voltage runs and the line-voltage outlet feeding them, so the diagnosis covers both sides of the transformer instead of guessing at one.
We serve neighborhoods across the bay, including South Tampa. Call (813) 850-0320 if your lighting is dark, dimming at the far end, or tripping every time it rains.