On Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:47:34 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

RBM wrote:
That wiring is not unusual. It is proper to do it either way.

I think you misunderstood him. He's got a switched neutral, which is
not proper and dangerous

I must of misread. A switched neutral would be very bad. However I
can't see where he said that. If you mean "Many light fixtures, including
this one, have voltage in the box even when the switch is turned off" that
would not mean a switched neutral, it could mean the power is supplied to
the box at the light and a separate run is made from there to the switch.


It could. Much of my house is wired that way. Romex from the breaker
panel is wired to a node near the ceiling light. Cables from the
switch and all the receptacles in that room connect to that. You see 2
junctions with a lot of wires in them. One is a bunch of white wires
(including a wire to the light). The other is a bunch of black with
one white. That white wire is the one going to the light switch.

The "hot" node is not connected directly to the light. Doing so would
bypass the switch and keep the light on all the time.







"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
.. .
6zbeast wrote:
I was hoping somebody could help. I have installed a low voltage
fixture in my hallway and I can't seem to get it to work. The house
is old, and the wiring is always a surprise. Many light fixtures,
including this one, have voltage in the box even when the switch is
turned off (learned this the hard way with the first light I
replaced in the house). Seems like the power runs through the
fixture down to the swich, instead of the reverse. I don' t know
if this would make a low voltage light not work. Maybe the
transformer is just defective. When I turn it on, I can barely
hear the transformer making a slight buzz sound, but the lights
don't light up. I also thought it might be the track, but I've
inspected it and it seems okay. I've even tried reverse wiring it,
still no luck. Any ideas?

That wiring is not unusual. It is proper to do it either way.

Someone needs to measure the voltage at the transformer (voltage
in and voltage out). Remember that using a digital meter can result
in measuring AC voltages that are really not there. For this kind
of work a older analog meter is better. The voltage has to be
measured at each connection until you find one that is dead.

I would have to guess that if the transformer is buzzing, even a
little, it is getting voltage. Have you checked the bulb(s)?

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit
--
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Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"I have found Christian dogma unintelligable. Early
in life I absented myself from Christian assemblies."
-- Benjamin Franklin