What’s the difference between shorting cap vs photocell ?

Shorting Cap VS Photocell

Many customers are confused by these two LED gasket accessories shorting cap vs photocell for LED parking lot light, so I would like to explain it for customer to understand their differences fully.

Below is the summary of this post, you can click each title and jump to the part you are interested.

1. What does shorting cap do ?
2. How do I know if the shorting cap is installed correctly ?
3. What does shorting cap VS photocell look like ?

What does a shorting cap do ?

Shorting cap is also called receptacle by some customer, a cap part assembled on top of the driver box on LED parking lot fixtures, which is used to connect the power between the line and load all the time.

If you remove the shorting cap from the shoebox light, then it equals to open a circuit, the LED light cannot light up, as it seems play a role as a switch to turn on/off the power.

Besides, if you forget to install the cap, the rain water would fall into the driver box and cause the fixture non waterproof or failed.

Some customer might install it unproperly as well and come to conclusion that the light are defective when received the goods.

So how do I know the shorting cap is installed correctly ?

You need to twist lock and hear a sound of “ka”, which indicates that it is installed properly.

Why leaving a top shorting cap there if there is no additional function ?

Well, because in some certain cases, people might consider to add a photocell sensor to the LED shoebox light fixture in order for a daylight harvesting control / photocontrol.

With a shorting cap there, it is convenient for clients to remove the shorting cap, just screw it out and buy a photocell sensor and replace it.

If there is no shorting cap there, you need to drill a hole at the driver box, and it is not easy and time-consuming.

Most importantly, if you are unprofessional, you might weaken the fixture’s waterproof, and you cannot ask for manufaturer’s warranty.

What does shorting cap vs photocell look like ?

It is a kind note that shorting cap is often black cap, and photocell is blue cap for 100-277V and yellow cap for 200-480V.

Therefore, you’d better to figure the voltage range and buy the correct one, don’t mix up, otherwise, the photocell would be burned.