Tagged Questions
1
vote
1answer
62 views
What can I use as an alternative for an underwriter's knot?
I want to hang a vertical pendant, but what do I do to prevent the wire from pulling through? The vertical cord is a hard nylon that can carry the vertical load of the pendant, and the hole in the ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
Why is my Australian light fixture wired this way?
I just want to replace it with a new light fitting philips tcg701 but there's way too many wires and I don't know why it was done this way.
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Can I use a T5 HO lamp in a non-HO luminaire?
Does anyone know what would happen?
Does the ballast limit the power?
If the T5 HO lamps were less expensive than T5 non-HO lamps, would it be ok to just use them in a non-HO luminaire?
0
votes
0answers
36 views
How do I connect up a ceiling rose in a 2-way switch circuit?
I removed a ceiling rose and forgot to at least take an image or draw the wiring before replacing it.
It is part of a 2 way switch (the other switch is upstairs). However, the wiring colours are ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
How can I have a light turn on when a pocket door is opened?
I'm building a new home with quite a few pocket doors and would like to know if there is a way for the pantry and utility room lights to come on when the pocket door slides open.
0
votes
1answer
71 views
What is this circuit board and how to I replace it?
I have two under counter lights in my kitchen which stopped working at the same time. I assumed some kind of fuse needed changing, and on opening the little box connecting them to the mains I found ...
3
votes
2answers
62 views
Can I add an occupancy sensor to a 3-way circuit?
If I replace one switch in a 3-way circuit with an occupancy switch, would this cause the occupancy switch to work in reverse (or not at all) if the regular switch was toggled?
If so, would the best ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
How can I add a programmable timer to a circuit breaker so that I can force specific circuits on/off at specific times?
My father-in-law suffers from dementia. His doctor wants him to go to bed at 11 PM, but he often refuses and stays up way later than he should watching TV. We have him set up with a separate suite ...
3
votes
0answers
61 views
Why is my lighting circuit tripping the breaker?
I have several MR16 2 pin style light bulbs in my kitchen - The other day the trip switch for the light bulbs tripped when turning these bulbs on - I went and flipped the trip switch and tried again ...
1
vote
0answers
84 views
Can I convert my front intermediate light (with only 1 wire) to a junction box with live, neutral and ground wires?
I want to change my entire front light housing because it is old and uses an intermediate-base light bulb. The new one I have purchased has black, white and copper wires. The old one only has a wire ...
2
votes
3answers
222 views
How can I install a pendant light fixture on a cathedral ceiling with no attic space?
My house has an integrated ceiling/roof with exposed rafters... the ceiling/roof is sloped and surfaced with V-edged 2" redwood boards over 4x6 rafters 4' on center. I want to hang a pendant light ...
-1
votes
2answers
91 views
How can I add lighting in my bedrooms without too many visible wires?
I will be moving in to my new house in 2 months. My wife and I thought that we might not need ceiling lights, and that our builder charged too much for the lights anyway. We did not order any ceiling ...
0
votes
1answer
186 views
Why am I getting 50V at a light when the switch is off?
I am trying to put in a switch and a light it controls in a storage building and this is how I wired it.
Click for larger view
When I checked the wiring it registered 120V when the switch was on, ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
Why do the lights on my newly installed ceiling fan flick on and then off immediately?
We just installed our new ceiling fan with lights. The fan works fine but the light will flick on and then off again immediately. We took it back down and reinstalled it, ensuring that all wires were ...
-5
votes
1answer
100 views
How can I immerse a light bulb in water? [closed]
I have a transparent wine glass which I want to be filled with colored water and then place a light bulb immersed in the water so that when I switch on the bulb the wine glass emits the color of the ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
What lamps available in the UK are compatible with BS 546 plugs?
We have lots of spare BS546 plug sockets in our rented house (we are located it London, UK). In the bedroom, these are linked to the lighting circuit but we only have one lamp so the room is very ...
6
votes
2answers
140 views
Does lamp maximum wattage matter for CF bulbs? [duplicate]
Say I have a table lamp that states (via a slightly scary sticker) that it takes a 60W max bulb. Of course, that was based around incandescent wattages.
Is there any risk with putting in a CF bulb ...
1
vote
3answers
135 views
How can I rewire this circuit?
In my basement, I am removing an existing fixture and planning on installing pot-lights. Previously when I have switched out a fixture, I generally find white + black + ground, which is pretty easy ...
3
votes
1answer
409 views
Why do light bulbs all over the house burn out disconcertingly fast?
I've found a couple answers to this question. This generally revolve around the scenario where it's bulbs in a general area such as a fan.
My issue is that light bulbs all over the house burn out ...
1
vote
2answers
181 views
Why does turning on one light turn off a different light?
I have a ceiling fan with a light and another light with switches on opposite sides of the wall. One side has a double switch which goes to the fan with a light and the other a single three way switch ...
2
votes
1answer
264 views
What are switches activated by a closet door called?
My father-in-law set up all of his closet lights to turn on and off when the door opens. He used a switch that was apparently designed for that purpose, with a largish contact switch that turned on ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Can I connect wall sconces to an existing switched circuit?
My den has four outlets tied to one wall switch (top receptacle at each outlet). I am looking to install four sconces (two per wall on two walls) and was wondering if I can tie these into the existing ...
0
votes
1answer
198 views
What is causing my light bulbs to burn out so quickly?
I have some 12-volt outdoor lighting that is quickly blowing through light bulbs (couple weeks at a time.) I just measured the voltage and it read 13.4 volts. Could this be the culprit?
The other ...
2
votes
1answer
226 views
Can I replace a single light switch with a 3-way switch that can individually control 2 lights in a fixture?
I have a ceiling light fixture with 2 bulb sockets. Right now it's controlled by a single 2-way switch (on/off).
My idea was to install a 3-way (or possible 4 but not necessary) switch that can ...
0
votes
0answers
113 views
How can I replace a ceiling fan with a regular light fixture?
I live in Canada, and I have taken down a ceiling fan light fixture and then hooked up a regular light fixture.
I found the light remains on and does not work with the switch. I have never had this ...
1
vote
1answer
128 views
How can I install this programmable switch?
I just had our house re-wired (by a professional, not myself). I'm looking into replacing a light switch with a fancy programmable version (Honeywell Econoswitch RPLS740B).
The location for the ...
1
vote
2answers
94 views
What kinds of dimmers do I need?
I'd like to make myself a lighting control that would schematically look like this:
I don't know a lot about dimmers, but I heard they have some parameters which might prevent them from working. ...
4
votes
1answer
232 views
Can I install a light between two three-way switches?
is it possible to add a light to a three way switch circuit between the two three way switches (ie can i tie into the three wire connecting the two switches in anyway to make them work the new light ...
0
votes
0answers
93 views
Why would my lights take 10-20 seconds to turn on after installing a dimmer?
I have double-checked the connections. I am guessing next step is to replace the switch in case that was the problem. It is only running two wall sconces, each with one low wattage bulb. Anyone ...
2
votes
1answer
238 views
Why do my pot lights flicker randomly when not at full brightness?
They're connected to a 1000W dimmer and I think (hope) it's that. In total there are 12 pot lights connection (600W total) and at full dim or at certain levels they're fine but between a certain range ...
1
vote
2answers
243 views
Can I use low voltage lights with a motion sensor?
I have installed and wired low voltage exterior lights. They required a transformer to bring the AC to 24 volts. I want them controlled by a motion sensor so before the transformer I installed a ...
1
vote
3answers
184 views
What is the simplest way to create custom decorative LED-lighting?
I have always wanted to build decorative lamps with LEDs (application example: imagine a model boat with Xmas lights).
Is there a way (commercial, or custom-built) to power several LEDs, so that:
...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
wiring a single bathroom fan servicing 2 rooms in the master bathroom suite with 2 separate switches on the same circuit as well as lighting [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I wire an exhaust fan to turn on from multiple locations?
I am having trouble trying to wire a single in-line bathroom fan servicing a master bathroom suite. ...
1
vote
1answer
171 views
Why is the light always on after replacing the light fitting?
I replaced the light fitting in our living room, which is controlled by a dimmable switch, and now the light is always on.
When the dimmer is in the off position, the light is not very bright. When I ...
4
votes
1answer
300 views
How should I connect my light fixture?
I'm installing a ceiling light to a fixture that was previously unused. However I'm having trouble because there are 2 groups of white wires. Which white wire should I connect with the white wire of ...
0
votes
0answers
126 views
How do I replace a triple dimmer switch to a much smaller conventional switch?
Our kitchen lights are playing up, they're halogen spotlights controlled by a dimmer switch, and one by one they're either refusing to switch on, coming on if the dimmer is halfway on but off when ...
2
votes
2answers
479 views
What could I have done wrong while changing to LED bulbs in my recessed lighting?
I have six recessed lights in the kitchen. I bought six new LED bulbs to replace the old incandescents. I had to lower the socket an inch or two along the track in the recessed fixture in order to get ...
1
vote
2answers
424 views
Can I modify 3 ampere table lamps to work on 5 ampere round pin plugs?
I have moved to a property with 5amp round sockets around the room. I want to remove the standard 3 pin plugs from my table lamps and re-wire them with the 5amp round pin plugs I have bought. This ...
1
vote
1answer
471 views
How do I wire a new ceiling light with power to the ceiling and 3-way switches?
I'm trying to install a new light fixture in the front hall. Currently, the light is activated by 2 switches (on each end of hall). The NEW fixture has 1 black wire and 1 white wire. The ceiling wires ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
Can I safely ground a light fixture if the ceiling box has two hot and one neutral wire (no ground wire)
Checking for dupes, I saw this question, but the situation appears different as my box is metal, among other things.
I'm fairly new to electrical projects, so bear with me. I recently installed a new ...
3
votes
3answers
254 views
How do I get my fluorescent 4-tube under-cabinet lights to come on reliably?
How do I get my fluorescent 4-tube under-cabinet lights to come on reliably?
When they have been on a while and just been turned off they will reliably come on again immediately with no flicker. ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
How can I adjust my dimmers to work the way I want?
I have SmartLabs dimmers #2476d in my house and some will turn on all the way on a single tap while other turn half way and then when tap second time they go all the way.
Any idea how I can ...
2
votes
2answers
7k views
How should I connect the ground wire for my light fixture?
I am replacing a light fixture in my bathroom and have the following setup:
The electrical box is plastic
The wire coming from supply has black (hot), white (neutral) and copper (ground).
The light ...
2
votes
3answers
363 views
Do I need to cut into my drywall to install a switch?
I'm looking to put a light in outside my house. The light is going to be positioned directly behind the outlet I have pictured below where the wires are sticking out. I want the switch to control ...
0
votes
0answers
93 views
I want to make a flashlight that I can control [closed]
I want to have a battery powered flashlight that I can control. It can be done in any way. But I need to be able to make it in about two weeks. Does anyone have any Ideas on how to go about this? ...
2
votes
2answers
255 views
Did I make a mistake with this fluorescent light installation?
I bought a fluorescent light fixture with 2 light bulbs. I wanted to test if the light bulbs where good before mounting the fixture to the ceiling. So I simply plugged the cable to a 120V outlet. I ...
0
votes
1answer
441 views
Why isn't the switch working to turn off my ceiling lamp after I replaced a fan w/light?
I have properly connected the new ceiling lamp. Once I turn the breaker on again, the lamp turns on immediately. There is a double switch on the wall. One used to turn on a standing lamp on the corner ...
2
votes
1answer
157 views
Can anyone identify this light switch brand?
We've got a bunch of light switches and covers in our house but in the process of removing them to paint around them, one got broken. Can anyone help me identify it? They were put in by the builder ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Why do my LED lights flash on cold start?
Whenever I flip on my dimmer switch, all four dimmable LED lamps flash on in unison, blink off, and then come on at the selected dim level. This happens even with the dimmer slider maxed out, so it's ...
10
votes
1answer
6k views
What do I need to install LED strip lighting?
I've been looking to install LED strips, either RGB or white for lighting and ambiance. It wouldn't be the main lighting of the room, so no necessity for high power LEDs.
The perimeter of the room is ...
