Home wiring help

Okay, I have a bizzar situation here and I could use some help. I have 4 strings of christmas lights plugged into each other (series) and into a switched plug. The first 2 lights aren't turning off but the last 2 strings go on and off with the switch. I can't figure out why this is happening. I am using the following;

2 - 50' strings of LED holiday lights (first 2)
2 - 100' strings of smaller LED lights (last 2)
7 day digital programmable timer wired in series with a photocell so the lights only come on between a certain timeframe if it's dark enough

Thanks,

 

Correction, the first 2 strings are dim until the switch is activated, then they get bright at the same time that the last 2 strings go on.

 

This isn't clear to me. Is the timer/photocell wired to the switched outlet? If everything is connected to the same outlet (not one to the upper and one to the lower of a duplex outlet--switched outlets are typically wired so only one half of a duplex outlet is switched), then you have a wiring anomaly. Get a voltmeter and measure the voltage when things are supposed to be off and let us know what you have.

 

Initial thoughts is a bad switch? Some digital timers do not like LED lights. What happens if you plug the entire assembly directly into a wall outlet? That will tell you if it is a problem with the lights, or the timer/controller. If they operate properly (which I assume they will since they all come on with the timer turned on) then I would suspect that the timer/controller is either bad, or just is not handling the LED lights properly.

 

My first thought is stray voltage on your neutral side. Or check the switch to be sure it is switching the hot leg instead of the neutral. Another thought, is there something plugged into the other side of the outlet, if so try removing it.

 

Ditto.

Triac outputs need a fair load to properly shut off.
Add a single 60w light bulb to the strings and see if they shut down properly. If so, your timer won't work with LEDs.