what the heck – electrical wiring
Pull some switches to relocate and add some wiring for the two rooms I am finishing. Is the wiring standard practice? If not whats wrong with it besides the obvious?
Dan
Pull some switches to relocate and add some wiring for the two rooms I am finishing. Is the wiring standard practice? If not whats wrong with it besides the obvious?
Dan
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Replies
By obvious you mean the lack of grounds?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"
the grounds are splice together, not sure it you can see that in the pic
my biggest concern was the bare wires beyond the back stabs, you can see what i mean more clear in pic two
Dan
....TURN OFF THE CIRCUITS...mark all the wires....... make a drawing..........then cut the wires (one at a time ) close to the connectionslowly twist and pull the stabbed connection out, there is a strip gage on the back of those switches ,
strip teach wire to that length and make a loop in the bare end then wrap them around the screw terminals so the loop will close as you tighten the screwwrap tape around each switch and then re-install.
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.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
?
Gotcha...dats why I am a roofer/woodworker.
I leave the sparks to the ones that have the toolbelt full of screwdrivers.
seriously I saw a LOT of obvious FU's..where to start? I worked for a real ele. for spell when a customer of mine went chapter 13 and wonked me outta 40K..I owed my highschool buddie, the ele. a wad of bucks...he let me work it off in trade, and I learned a whole lot more than what I had repayed him...I rewired my crib here. The RIGHT way.
I still don't see any easy fix there.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" If ya plan to face tomorrow, do it soon"
Well obviously, those switches are supposed to be IN the box.
But seriously, isn't the hot & neutral reversed?
-Don
Looks like someone used the white leads to switch without making them black or red, as required by code. Also they used those holes in the switch for connection instead of wraping around the screw post, which is legal but discouraged by most electricians.
yes i dont understand why all the blacks are wire nutted in the box and why would they use (2) 3 wire cable to the switches. Plus most of the back stabs are bare beyond the connection. Its gonna be hard to figure this one out
Dan
dan,
You said:
yes i dont understand why all the blacks are wire nutted in the box and why would they use (2) 3 wire cable to the switches. Plus most of the back stabs are bare beyond the connection. Its gonna be hard to figure this one out
I'm thinking that you need to buy a good basic wiring book and read the sections on switches. As others have pointed out, the switches with three wires each are "three way" switches. Not recognizing that tells me you're low on the learning curve for electrical, and need to get smart before you make any other move.
FYI, there are several ways to configure the two, three-way switches and fixture in a three-way switching circuit.
There are some requirements as to which wire is used for what (WRT the colors of the wires), but the requirements are often ignored. And things will work fine if the wrong color wire is used. There are also cases where things work, but are wrong and dangerous (like switching a neutral).
If it's any consolation, I've run across three-way and four-way switching circuits where I've spent 20 minutes sorting everything out. That's a long time if you've got the right continuity tester and lest leads, and a solid understanding of three-way configurations (and if you're charging what I charge).
Of course, the homeowner had spent four hours trying to figure it out by trial and error. Oh, and I had to replace all the switches and the breaker; he'd closed the switches on a short and tripped the breaker so many times, that they were all fried.
Anyway, you've really got to understand the theory behind three-way switching; search on that term on the web and you'll find some very good animations of three-way switching set ups.
Then you have to know how to use a continuity tester. I strongly recommend against using a voltage tester and testing energized circuits; cut power to the circuit, remove the lightbulbs in the fixture(s), and use a continuity tester and some lengths of wire as test leads to sort things out.
Good luck.
Cliff
yes they are 3 ways (and i understand about the travel) but they have use two (3) wire cable to each switch (i have also wired a 3 way in the basement). There is also a single pole switch it the box with the two black wires connected (one is a pig tail) which are connected to remainder of the black wires. There is also an outlet in the garage that is on the same circuit. Gonna have to tear down on the insulation to figure this out. Plus in the second pic there are two cables goint to the (which to mean would mean the power is going to the switch first) switch at the top or right side of the pic but the hot (black) is nutted to the white and a white to the switch.........just not what i expected to see.
i have the b&d book and these switches look like nothing in there
Dan
Edited 8/26/2006 2:03 am ET by danz857
wrap some tape around the three way travelers ..pick any color you like......"cept green of course...
.I would be more concerned with the screws that look like they are not tightened down, makes me think the wires are just stabbed into the terminals, which is not a good method at all
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.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
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yes maddog just gave two a yank and the wires came right out in, again why (2) 3 wire wire when a two wire was all that was needed, maybe thats all they had left?
Dan
those are not three way switches.......???look at the toggle itself....is ON OFF molded into the handleif not,....... you will need three wires.
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.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
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Edited 8/25/2006 8:30 pm by maddog3
I assumed that they where 3-wyas also.Now the 2 picture looks like it might be wired correctly. (Along with the comments about the backstab and the screws not run it. But again it is common practice)But the first one does not.They have 2 reds a white. That means that does not look correct. I could see 2 reds and black or red, white, and black.But it could be. Here is one.http://www.selfhelpandmore.com/switchoutlet/3way/3wayfixture.htmBut instead of a 2 wire cable a 3 wire cable was run and the white was used as a neutral. That might be if they wanted to be able to install x-10 controls in the future.But that does not make sense either since it appears that the feed is at that box.This link shows all of the way that two 3-ways can be wired.http://www.selfhelpandmore.com/switchoutlet/3way/index.htm