I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

Aaron Fude wrote:
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

As I see it:
The switch was (improperly) wired into the Neutral side of the Line.


splice
Neutral ___________0 sw 0_________X_________0 light 0_____Hot
Bk Wh Wh Bk


It may not be possible to correct the mistake without opening walls, etc.

Jim

On Sat, 10 May 2008 16:15:26 -0700 (PDT), Aaron Fude
wrote:

I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

The two wires at the switch go on the two terminals on the switch.
At the light, black to black and white to white.

You can put some tape on the white wire at the switch but it works
fine without it.

Speedy Jim wrote:
Aaron Fude wrote:

I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron


As I see it:
The switch was (improperly) wired into the Neutral side of the Line.


splice
Neutral ___________0 sw 0_________X_________0 light 0_____Hot
Bk Wh Wh Bk


It may not be possible to correct the mistake without opening walls, etc.

Jim

If it's a switch leg, it ought to be able to be fixed without busting
anything open.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron



I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these wires
could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same room? Is
there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is a junction box
up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a remodel?

On May 10, 7:15*pm, Aaron Fude wrote:
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

Is the light on a "three way switch". By that I mean, are there TWO
switches that operate the light -- say one at each end of a hallway or
at the top and bottom of stairs?

Here is what you have.

http://www.indepthinfo.com/wire-swit...t-switch.shtml

The white wire in the switch box should have been marked with black tape or
sharpie. You'll see that in the picture that the white wired is marked this
way.
--

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

On Sat, 10 May 2008 19:25:59 -0500, metspitzer
wrote:

On Sat, 10 May 2008 16:15:26 -0700 (PDT), Aaron Fude
wrote:

I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

The two wires at the switch go on the two terminals on the switch.
At the light, black to black and white to white.

You can put some tape on the white wire at the switch but it works
fine without it.


If you put the tester down and just look at what you have, you can't
really go wrong.

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron



I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly broke
the neutral through the switch

"metspitzer" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron



I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch


Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot

On May 10, 10:36*pm, "RBM" wrote:
"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
....
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. *Is there another light fixture in the same
room? *Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is
a
junction box up there? *Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. *You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.

Let me get this straight.

In the box for the switch there is a black and white wire and in the light's
box there is also only a black and a white.

In my post I assumed that the cable in the switch box was also in the light
box and should match the diagram.

If this is the case then there has to be another box somewhere between the
switch and the light.

Also I believe that digital multimeters can give weird readings or you have
some majorly screwed up wiring like things wired in series instead of
parallel.

Good Luck


"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
On May 10, 10:36 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed
the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes
this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put
it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.

On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:


"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron



I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly broke
the neutral through the switch


Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

Metspitzer, I appreciate what you are saying, and that's what it
should be, but that's just not what it is and I'd like to figure it
out.

So here's additional information.

And the fixtu
1. The black wire is definitely hot.
2. The voltmeter shows zero voltage across the black and the white
when diconnected at the switch.

"In between":
With the circuit off, I performed a connectivity test by testing for
resistance. When I touched the two wires at the fixture, the
resistance went down to zero when measuring at the switch.

At the switch:
I. Both wires dead when wires not touching at the fixture.
II. With wires touching at the fixture, the white wire is hot and the
voltage across the wires shows 120V.

Does that help shed light on the situation?

Thanks!

On Sat, 10 May 2008 19:49:35 -0700 (PDT), Aaron Fude
wrote:

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.

Use this drawing.
http://www.tpub.com/content/construc.../14026_155.htm

We make the top splice A
Black wire at the light B
White wire at the light C

Black wire at the switch D
White wire at the switch E


The chepo pen actually would be best in this situation.

With the swtich on you should have power at A,B,D,E
With the switch off you should have power at A,E

On May 11, 12:49*am, Aaron Fude wrote:
On May 10, 10:36*pm, "RBM" wrote:





"metspitzer" wrote in message

.. .

On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
....
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black white is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. *Is there another light fixture in the same
room? *Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is
a
junction box up there? *Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. *You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot

- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Use a bulb not a tester. Even cheap testers can pick induced voltages
on disconnected from adjacent working wires.

Sounds like two possibilities.
1) As some have pointed out the switch may be wired into the white
(neutral) side of the line to to light. However more likely it may
just a confusion of colours by whoever wired it previously.
2) In order to switch ceiling lights on and off, the two wires down to
the switch could (are likely to) be:
a) A live lead (s'posed to be black but may not be) from the supply.
b) A wire that connects to other side of the switch. This lead
although it may be white is called a 'Switched Live'. So that when the
switch is ON there is voltage that wire goes to the light fixture.
At the light fixture the neutral (white) side should be solid back to
the supply (neutral) and the 'switched live, which may be white
possibly marked with tape or nail polish in some way!**) provides
switched voltage to the (live wire) of the light.
Unlikely to be any neutral wires at all in the switch box. 'Usually'
all neutrals up in the ceiling run to the light fixtures.
Some jurisdictions suggest that switched live be red not white but
usually accept some form of marking of a white wire as a 'switched
live'. So one may see white/black from fuse panels to each ceiling
fixture but red blacks down to each switch. Where blacks are live and
the reds are switched lives!

On May 10, 11:14*pm, Pat wrote:
On May 10, 7:15*pm, Aaron Fude wrote:





I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

Is the light on a "three way switch". *By that I mean, are there TWO
switches that operate the light -- say one at each end of a hallway or
at the top and bottom of stairs?- Hide quoted text -


Remote possibility?
Interesting how we tend to say "Three way switch" even though each
switch has only two positions and there ae only two of them. However
don't think this has anything to do with OPs wiring question?

"Cliff Hartle" wrote in message
news:4UrVj.362$lQ1.31@trnddc02...
Here is what you have.

http://www.indepthinfo.com/wire-swit...t-switch.shtml

The white wire in the switch box should have been marked with black tape
or sharpie. You'll see that in the picture that the white wired is marked
this

True.

BUT when you hae a "switch loop" (a switch with just one black and one
white wire coming in) the white wire is almost always the one that's "HOT"
all the time and the black is the one that is connected to the lighting
fixture "hot" lead.

Most folks can quickly figure out that any and all of the wires going to a
switch will be HOT at least some of the time.

way.
--

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Cliff Hartle" wrote in message
news:nutVj.23625$5Y1.12816@trnddc04...
Let me get this straight.

In the box for the switch there is a black and white wire and in the
light's box there is also only a black and a white.

In my post I assumed that the cable in the switch box was also in the
light box and should match the diagram.

If this is the case then there has to be another box somewhere between
the switch and the light.

Also I believe that digital multimeters can give weird readings or you
have some majorly screwed up wiring like things wired in series instead of
parallel.

Good Luck


"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
On May 10, 10:36 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed
the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that
came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes
this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the
wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there
is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put
it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

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Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.

In that case, what John Grabowski suggested, must be correct. There is a
third junction box. If disconnecting the two switch conductors does not kill
the hot in the lighting outlet box, then it was the neutral that was broken
through the switch

"John Gilmer" wrote in message
...

"Cliff Hartle" wrote in message
news:4UrVj.362$lQ1.31@trnddc02...
Here is what you have.

http://www.indepthinfo.com/wire-swit...t-switch.shtml

The white wire in the switch box should have been marked with black tape
or sharpie. You'll see that in the picture that the white wired is
marked this

True.

BUT when you hae a "switch loop" (a switch with just one black and one
white wire coming in) the white wire is almost always the one that's "HOT"
all the time and the black is the one that is connected to the lighting
fixture "hot" lead.

Most folks can quickly figure out that any and all of the wires going to a
switch will be HOT at least some of the time.

Exactly, and then you don't have to guess at which of the two white wires at
the light, is the neutral














way.
--

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron




** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
On May 10, 10:36 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed
the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes
this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put
it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.



Use a pigtail socket and light bulb for testing.

After I went to bed I think I figured it out.

The power is coming from another box maybe an outlet.

Here is the "path" of the power.

In the power box the black power is connected to the black from the light.

The white from the light is connected to the white from the switch.

The black from the switch is connected to the white in the power box.

In other words as people have said the neutral is being switched.

The reason why he got voltage from the white at the switch was because he
was completing the circuit. I guess the internal resistance in the
multimeter kept the light from glowing brightly.

Easy enough to fix if you now where the power comes from.










"RBM" wrote in message
...

"Cliff Hartle" wrote in message
news:nutVj.23625$5Y1.12816@trnddc04...
Let me get this straight.

In the box for the switch there is a black and white wire and in the
light's box there is also only a black and a white.

In my post I assumed that the cable in the switch box was also in the
light box and should match the diagram.

If this is the case then there has to be another box somewhere between
the switch and the light.

Also I believe that digital multimeters can give weird readings or you
have some majorly screwed up wiring like things wired in series instead
of parallel.

Good Luck


"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
On May 10, 10:36 pm, "RBM" wrote:
"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I removed
the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that
came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes
this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a
black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now
that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the
wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where
these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if there
is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of
the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to put
it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire
at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.

In that case, what John Grabowski suggested, must be correct. There is a
third junction box. If disconnecting the two switch conductors does not
kill the hot in the lighting outlet box, then it was the neutral that was
broken through the switch

Thanks!

There are a couple of outlets on the same circuit so I'll check it
out!

Aaron

John Grabowski wrote:


"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...
On May 10, 10:36 pm, "RBM" wrote:

"metspitzer" wrote in message

...





On Sat, 10 May 2008 22:03:16 -0400, "RBM" wrote:

"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

"Aaron Fude" wrote in message
...

I'm sure you guys will crack it instantly.

I'm replacing a light and the switch that controlled it. I
removed the
switch first. The switch connected a black and a white wire that
came
in the same sheath. The white one was hot. (I know that sometimes
this
means something, but what?)

Then when I removed the light I discovered that it, too, had a black
and a white wire connected to it, and the black one is hot. Now that
the light is disconnected, the black whire is still hot, but the
wire
that used to be connected to the switch is now dead.

There are no other wires in either electrical box.

I'm racking by brain, but can't figure out how everything was
connected.

Many thanks in advance!

Aaron

I'm thinking that there is another junction box somewhere where these
wires could be connected. Is there another light fixture in the same
room? Is there an accessible attic above so you can go see if
there is
a
junction box up there? Did an electrical box get buried during a
remodel?

I agree, the op either missed the second cable and splice in one of the
junction boxes or there is obviously a third box, and they mistakenly
broke
the neutral through the switch

Sounds like to me he is just trying to get a voltage reading across
the switch.

If he took a switch out he would only have 2 wires to put back. You
can't really mess it up.

When he took the light down, there is only 2 wires to put back too.

Seems like he is mistaken of the meter readings.

I think he's just trying to figure how it works, not so much, how to
put it
back. As you said, he really can't go wrong. I belive he's thinking that
with the switch wires disconnected, he shouldn't still have a hot wire at
the light, which is correct, except for when the neutral was switched
instead of the hot



- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -



Hi,

To clarify matters - yes, I'm just trying to figure out how it works,
not how to put it back together. And I still don't get it.

There are *only* to wires in each electrical box. I'm sure I did not
miss anything, because I have now removed the electrical boxes. Each
of the two wires came from a single romex.

So Cliff's suggestion was mostly likely, but that is not it. So I am
still puzzled.

One thing I am thinking is that I've been using a cheapo pen-like
voltage detector. Maybe my readings are wrong. I will go back and use
something a little bit more refined.



Use a pigtail socket and light bulb for testing.

When you made your determination that the white wire from the switch
was hot, was the light socket still connected? If so, you were just
measuring the line voltage through the bulb. Done properly, the
white wire to a switch should have a black marking to signal that it,
too, has the potential (no pun intended) to be hot.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

On 5/11/2008 12:06 AM terry spake thus:

Interesting how we tend to say "Three way switch" even though each
switch has only two positions and there ae only two of them. However
don't think this has anything to do with OPs wiring question?

It's a well-known misnomer. It should be called a "2-way" switch, as
there are two switches controlling one device.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

On Sun, 11 May 2008 14:08:23 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 5/11/2008 12:06 AM terry spake thus:

Interesting how we tend to say "Three way switch" even though each
switch has only two positions and there ae only two of them. However
don't think this has anything to do with OPs wiring question?

It's a well-known misnomer. It should be called a "2-way" switch, as
there are two switches controlling one device.

The way I heard it, the "ways" of a 3-way switch are the 3 devices
that are wired (light and 2 switches).
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"God was invented by man for a reason, that
reason is no longer applicable."