When only some of your landscape lights have stopped working, the problem is usually somewhere along the wiring or fixtures that feed that group, not the power supply for the whole system. If the transformer, the timer or the outdoor outlet had failed, every light on that transformer would typically be dark. A partial outage points instead to a single fixture, a failed connection, a damaged section of cable, or one zone of a multi-zone setup. The pattern of which lights are out is the most useful clue you have, and you can gather it without touching any wiring.
That is especially relevant in metro Atlanta. Our heavy summer storms, red clay that holds water, constant humidity, and busy fall aeration and planting season are all hard on buried low-voltage cable and the splices that connect fixtures to it. Many Gwinnett homes also have systems that were installed a decade or more ago, sometimes by a landscaper rather than an electrician, with connections that were never sealed well. When a section goes dark, the goal is to describe the problem clearly and get the right assessment, not to start digging.
Most Landscape Systems Are Built in Runs, and That Explains the Pattern
A typical low-voltage landscape system has three parts. A transformer, usually mounted on an exterior wall and plugged into or wired to an outdoor circuit, steps household 120-volt power down to a low voltage such as 12 volts. From the transformer, one or more main cables run through the beds. Each fixture connects to a main cable with a splice or connector, often just a few inches below the mulch. Some transformers have more than one output, so different areas of the yard can be on separate runs or separate timer zones.
Because fixtures share a cable, they tend to fail in groups that follow the cable. That is why the location of the dark lights matters so much. For how these systems are designed and priced in the first place, our guide to low-voltage landscape lighting installation costs covers the planning side; this article stays with what goes wrong after the system is in the ground.
Reading the Pattern: What Each Kind of Outage Usually Means
You can learn a lot by walking the yard in the evening when the system should be on. Do not open fixtures, pull on cables or dig around connections while the system is powered. Simply look and take notes.
One Light Out, Everything Else Normal
A single dark fixture most often means a failed lamp or LED module, a failed fixture, or a bad connection right at that fixture. Moisture inside the lens, a cracked housing, or a fixture that has been knocked over by a mower are common signs. This is the simplest pattern, and it rarely points to a larger wiring problem, though several individual failures over a short period can mean the system is aging as a whole.
A String of Lights Out From One Point Onward
If every fixture past a certain point on a run is dark while the ones closer to the transformer still work, the cable or a splice between the last working light and the first dark one is the usual suspect. This is the pattern we most often associate with physical damage: a shovel, an aerator, a new fence post, or roots that have pulled a connection apart. It can also be a single corroded splice that has finally failed after years of wet soil.
An Entire Area or Zone Dark
When one whole section of the yard is out, such as all the front bed lights while the back patio lights still work, the fault is often on the cable that feeds that area, at the point where that run connects to the transformer, or with the timer or output that controls that zone. Separate outputs and zones are designed to fail independently, so one dark zone does not necessarily mean the transformer itself has failed.
Lights That Are Dim, Flickering or Slow to Come On
Dim lights, especially at the far end of a run, can point to voltage drop from a cable that is too small or too long for the load, too many fixtures added over the years, or connections that have corroded and now resist current. Flickering can come from a loose or corroded connection that makes and breaks contact as the ground shifts. If you have also noticed flickering inside the house, our article on flickering lights in the house covers the indoor causes, which are a separate question.
Every Light Out
If the entire system is dark, the likely causes move to the supply side: a tripped GFCI outlet, a tripped breaker, a timer or photocell setting, a failed transformer, or a problem with the 120-volt circuit that feeds it. That is not the subject of this article, but it helps to confirm that at least some lights still work before assuming a partial fault. If the outdoor outlet itself is dead, our guide to an electrical outlet that is not working explains the safe next steps.
What to Note Before You Call, and What to Leave Alone
The most helpful thing you can do is give the electrician a clear picture. Note which fixtures are out and which still work, ideally on a quick sketch of the yard. Write down when you first noticed it and whether anything happened just before: a storm, heavy rain, new plantings, aeration, a fence or irrigation project, or a power outage. Note whether the dark lights are completely off or just dim, and whether the transformer has any indicator light or display showing a status. Photos of any damaged or tipped fixtures help too.
Leave the wiring alone. Do not open fixtures, cut into cable, or pull splices out of the ground to look at them while the system has power. The low-voltage side carries less shock risk than household wiring, but a short on the low-voltage side can still overheat connections, and the transformer is connected to a full 120-volt circuit. If the outdoor GFCI outlet feeding the transformer has tripped and trips again, leave it off and call; a GFCI that will not stay reset is telling you there is a fault that needs to be found. If you see melted insulation, scorching, smoke or sparking at the transformer or any fixture, stay away from it. Active smoke, fire or sparking is a 911 call first, and an electrician second.
Avoid digging to find a break yourself. Beyond the risk of cutting more cable, Georgia law requires anyone digging to contact Georgia 811 before excavation so that buried utility lines can be marked, and landscape cable is often buried near irrigation lines and other services.
How a Licensed Electrician Assesses a Partial Outage
A partial outage is a fault-finding job, and it starts with the information you gathered. Our electrical repair services begin with confirming the 120-volt supply to the transformer is sound and protected, then tracing the affected run to narrow the problem to a fixture, a connection or a section of cable. From there, the usual fixes are repairing or replacing failed connections with properly sealed, direct-burial rated connectors, replacing a damaged section of cable, or replacing fixtures that have failed.
When the transformer or its timer is part of the problem, we assess whether replacement makes sense for your system; we do not repair the internal electronics of transformers or controllers. If the system has grown beyond what the transformer and cable were designed for, the better answer may be to rebalance the runs or add capacity, which our outdoor lighting installation team can plan. Any new outdoor outlet, hardwired transformer connection or change to the 120-volt circuit is licensed electrical work in Georgia and may require a permit through your county or city.
The code framework for these systems comes from the National Electrical Code, which covers low-voltage lighting separately from standard branch circuits while still requiring the 120-volt supply side to follow normal rules. NFPA’s page for NFPA 70 is the source for that standard. For general household precautions, NFPA’s home electrical safety tips are worth a read. We handle this kind of assessment for homeowners across Gwinnett and Jackson counties, and if you are looking for landscape lighting repair in Hoschton, the same process applies to your home.
Repair, Replace or Upgrade
If the outage comes down to one damaged section or a few failed connections on an otherwise healthy system, repair is usually the sensible choice. If fixtures are failing one after another, many connections are corroded, or the system still uses older halogen lamps, replacing fixtures or upgrading parts of the system to LED may make more sense over time. LED fixtures draw less power, which can also relieve an overloaded transformer. ENERGY STAR’s overview of LED lighting is a helpful primer if you are comparing options.
Cost depends on how long the fault takes to locate, how accessible the buried cable is, how many connections or fixtures need attention, whether the transformer needs replacement, and whether any 120-volt work requires a permit. Restoring mulch or plantings after a repair is usually a separate landscape task.
Getting a Partial Landscape Lighting Outage Resolved
A few dark landscape lights are rarely an emergency, but they are a signal that something along that run has changed. Read the pattern, write down what you see and what happened recently, and leave the wiring and connections for a licensed electrician to trace. That combination gets the fault found faster and avoids turning one bad splice into a bigger repair.
Georgia’s storm season, humid soil and busy yard-work months mean these problems tend to show up after rain or a weekend of planting. When they do, a clear description and a proper assessment are the right next step.
Kalahari Electrical Services is family-owned, licensed and insured in Georgia (EN213186), and has served metro Atlanta homeowners since 2001. Call us at 678-665-2309 or schedule a landscape lighting repair visit online, and let us know what you noticed so we can plan the visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are only some of my landscape lights out while others still work?
A partial outage usually means the problem is on the cable, connections or fixtures that serve that group of lights, not the transformer or power supply for the whole system. A single dark light points to that fixture or its connection, while a string of dark lights from one point onward often points to a damaged cable or failed splice. One dark zone can also mean a problem with that zone’s run or timer output.
Is it safe to fix landscape lights myself if only a few are off?
Replacing a lamp in an accessible fixture with the power off is a limited task, but opening fixtures, cutting into cable or digging up splices while the system is powered is not a good idea. The transformer connects to a 120-volt household circuit, and a short on the low-voltage side can still overheat connections. A licensed electrician can trace the fault and repair or replace the affected parts.
Why do sections of landscape lights stop working after heavy rain?
Heavy rain saturates the soil and can push water into poorly sealed splices, damaged cable insulation or cracked fixtures, which leads to corrosion and failed connections. In metro Atlanta, clay soil holds that moisture for days. If a section goes dark after a storm, note which lights are affected and have an electrician assess the run rather than digging it up yourself.