Goedjn wrote:

On Fri, 19 May 2006 18:56:46 GMT, "Toller" wrote:


"Goedjn" wrote in message
. ..

Well, the Eagle Electric brand for sure does not need the neutral --
I've installed several and none of them had both hot and neutral in the
switch box. Their drawing calls for the black to go to the hot and the
red & brown to be nutted and connected to the load and the green to go
the ground. Works fine every time for me. Who knows, they might be using
the ground lead to provide the little bit of "neutral" current needed --
probably wouldn't meet code but I've not checked it out.

If they've got any brains at all, they're just trickling the working
current down through the light, and it's just not enough to light it.


Okay, why couldn't you do the same with the timer switch?


Damned if I know. My theory is that the people who built the
timer switch weren't smart enough to think of it.

Nah. Seems to me the "timers" working current has to be there when the
light is ON, and that's when there should be NO voltage drop between
those two wires to run the timer with. So you couldn't ask for a very
large voltage drop there without having to put up with some significant
power wastage and heating, depending on the size of the bulb load.

Now I suppose you could put a current transformer over the current
carrying lead to the light bulbs and use the voltage developed on its
secondary, after regulation, to run the timer circuit. But that's a long
run for a short slide and transformers ain't cheap parts to make. Then
again, they do use current transformers in all GFCIs, so maybe it's not
such a whacky idea, and if a rustbucket like me could think of it, then
other engineers could easily do the same.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Life is like a sewer -- what you get out of it depends on what you put
into it."