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Default Two Back Wires, Two White Wires, WTH?

Finally found a solution to our bathroom wiring nightmare!!! Thank you!!

One of the two pairs of wires goes to the switch. You have to figure
out which one. Best thing to do is to disconnect all the wires, turn on
the breaker, then CAREFULLY use a neon tester to see which wire pair is
"hot". This is the one that ISN'T the switch.

Then TURN THE BREAKER OFF AGAIN, connect the BLACK wire from the pair
you found to be hot to the WHITE wire of the other pair (the pair that
goes to the switch) with a wire nut. Then connect the remaining black
and white wires to the fixture.
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Default Two Back Wires, Two White Wires, WTH?

On 5/23/2020 10:10 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2020 16:26:53 -0400, Hawk wrote:

On 5/23/2020 3:51 PM, wrote:
Finally found a solution to our bathroom wiring nightmare!!! Thank you!!

One of the two pairs of wires goes to the switch. You have to figure
out which one. Best thing to do is to disconnect all the wires, turn on
the breaker, then CAREFULLY use a neon tester to see which wire pair is
"hot". This is the one that ISN'T the switch.

Then TURN THE BREAKER OFF AGAIN, connect the BLACK wire from the pair
you found to be hot to the WHITE wire of the other pair (the pair that
goes to the switch) with a wire nut. Then connect the remaining black
and white wires to the fixture.


WHAT? You never connect hot to neutral.

Any switch uses the two hot wires and the two neutrals are wired
together. Is that what you meant? Cause that's not what I read.



It was likely a "drop switch" - power to the light box, 2 wire dropped
from the box to the switch. SHOULD have white of feed to the fixture,
black of feed to white of 2 wire to switch - marked with black tape,
black marker or black shrink tube both at the fixture and at the
switch, with the black from the switch connected to the black of the
fixture. So yes, you DO connect black to white - but you mark the
white. (the remarked white is NOT NEUTRAL)


I saved all that confusion by running my wiring all under the house -
and bringing my hots to the switch box . The only wiring in the attic is
the runs from the switches to the fixtures and a pair of 14/3's run from
one switch box to another for 2 fixtures that are switched in 2 locations .
--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crotchety - and armed .
Get outta my woods !
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Default Two Back Wires, Two White Wires, WTH?

On Sat, 23 May 2020 22:28:35 -0500, Snag wrote:

On 5/23/2020 10:10 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2020 16:26:53 -0400, Hawk wrote:

On 5/23/2020 3:51 PM, wrote:
Finally found a solution to our bathroom wiring nightmare!!! Thank you!!

One of the two pairs of wires goes to the switch. You have to figure
out which one. Best thing to do is to disconnect all the wires, turn on
the breaker, then CAREFULLY use a neon tester to see which wire pair is
"hot". This is the one that ISN'T the switch.

Then TURN THE BREAKER OFF AGAIN, connect the BLACK wire from the pair
you found to be hot to the WHITE wire of the other pair (the pair that
goes to the switch) with a wire nut. Then connect the remaining black
and white wires to the fixture.


WHAT? You never connect hot to neutral.

Any switch uses the two hot wires and the two neutrals are wired
together. Is that what you meant? Cause that's not what I read.



It was likely a "drop switch" - power to the light box, 2 wire dropped
from the box to the switch. SHOULD have white of feed to the fixture,
black of feed to white of 2 wire to switch - marked with black tape,
black marker or black shrink tube both at the fixture and at the
switch, with the black from the switch connected to the black of the
fixture. So yes, you DO connect black to white - but you mark the
white. (the remarked white is NOT NEUTRAL)


I saved all that confusion by running my wiring all under the house -
and bringing my hots to the switch box . The only wiring in the attic is
the runs from the switches to the fixtures and a pair of 14/3's run from
one switch box to another for 2 fixtures that are switched in 2 locations .

That's the "right" way to do things - might take a bit more copper
but makes the job easier when you install AND when you or someone else
needs to fix something.


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Default Two Back Wires, Two White Wires, WTH?

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 May 2020 21:55:35 -0400, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 May 2020 12:51:33 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Finally found a solution to our bathroom wiring nightmare!!! Thank you!!

One of the two pairs of wires goes to the switch. You have to figure
out which one. Best thing to do is to disconnect all the wires, turn on
the breaker, then CAREFULLY use a neon tester to see which wire pair is
"hot". This is the one that ISN'T the switch.

Then TURN THE BREAKER OFF AGAIN, connect the BLACK wire from the pair
you found to be hot to the WHITE wire of the other pair (the pair that
goes to the switch) with a wire nut. Then connect the remaining black
and white wires to the fixture.


I couldnt' follow what you were saying, but what I do in any but the
simplest case is make a drawing.

The drawing should include any wire, switch, or light that is shwoing,
visible, and it should make sense. Mark the colors of the wires on the
drawing and if there are two wires of the same color, you can use white
electric tape to tape them after first writing with indelible marker on
the tape which wire it is. then the next guy won't have to do as much
work as you have to do.


The last sentence is just a passing comment. For one thing, the next
guy might also be you. And the drawing is meant to help, and will help,
THIS time, not next time.
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Default Two Back Wires, Two White Wires, WTH?

On Sun, 24 May 2020 01:33:50 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sat, 23 May 2020 20:48:03 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 23 May 2020 16:10:36 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sat, 23 May 2020 12:51:33 -0700 (PDT),

wrote:

Finally found a solution to our bathroom wiring nightmare!!! Thank you!!

One of the two pairs of wires goes to the switch. You have to figure
out which one. Best thing to do is to disconnect all the wires, turn on
the breaker, then CAREFULLY use a neon tester to see which wire pair is
"hot". This is the one that ISN'T the switch.

Then TURN THE BREAKER OFF AGAIN, connect the BLACK wire from the pair
you found to be hot to the WHITE wire of the other pair (the pair that
goes to the switch) with a wire nut. Then connect the remaining black
and white wires to the fixture.

Your "solution" is the beginning of a whole new nightmare. What you're
describing is not right.


When you use NM as a switch loop, that is exactly right. The white
wire is the hot to the switch and it is not a neutral.


I wasn't thinking of switch loops. They aren't common where I come from.


The fairly new NEC change (14?) that requires a neutral at all
switching locations will make switch loops pretty rare in the future.
It was very common to use a ceiling light box as a junction box for
all the wiring going to that end of the house and where a multiwire
circuit was split out. The switch that controlled that light was
always on a loop. Typically the other hot side of that multiwire fed
another ceiling box in another room and that was where that feed got
split out. It saves wire but the down side was that a whole room went
dark when the breaker tripped. That was before all multiwire circuits
were required to be grouped in the panel and be on a handle tied
breaker so they might split some of the receptacles on a shared wall
to give you some power in the room if the other breaker tripped.

The far end of my house is wired that way. I did put the multiwire on
a 2 pole but I also pulled in another circuit.
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