Landscape lights provide a great opportunity for homeowners to add a little extra "flash" to their lawn. Whether it's the front yard or the back yard, a few well-placed lights can form an accept piece for your landscaping, and make that space just a little more special.

But what if they're not turning on? If the lights inside your house are on, you know it's most likely not a transformer that's blown, so the issue has to be with just your landscaping lights. Unfortunately, there are several different reasons for why they might not turn on—all of which can be diagnosed and fixed by a lighting system repair technician. Here are a few places to look before you call an electrician.

1. Check the Wires

Before you attempt to check your lights at home, make sure the power source is unplugged to keep from electrocuting yourself. Then, examine the wires to see if any of them are frayed or cut. In some cases, you may also find that they were not installed right in the first place. If that's what happened, it's best to let someone who is trained re-install them the right way.

2. Check the Connections

If you've recently done some landscaping work, the problem may be with the connection instead of the lights themselves. A rock moved to a different place or a tree installed next to the transformer can bend the wires and separate them from each other, so check to make sure all the connections are intact and tight. Alternatively, you can also hit the reset button on the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter switch (GFCI) and see if that does the trick. Sometimes, a few twists of a loose connection and resetting the switch is enough to breathe life back into your lighting system.

3. Check the Bulbs

Once the sun's up, check the individual bulbs to see if the filaments inside the bulbs are still connected and that the light fits inside the socket. If there's a bad bulb in your unit, it can cause a short that will trip the rest of the bulbs and either take down a section or the entire string. One bad bulb can create an internal arc that causes problems for everything else, so take a few minutes to examine each bulb individually.

It can sometimes feel like there are a thousand possible causes for why your landscape lighting isn't working properly, so if you're overwhelmed, contact someone who specializes in lighting system repair to get your system back up and running in no time.