Questions tagged [electrical]

Distribution and use of electricity throughout the home. Electrical standards vary greatly worldwide, so you need to provide your location in your question or profile to ensure you get answers that are relevant to you. Posting photographs of wiring junctions or drawing a wiring diagram and posting it is also highly recommended.

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Do I need a ground rod connected to my panel in my mobile home?

There is a meter pole with the main disconnect and ground rod at the bottom, feeding the mobile home with 4 wires, 2 hot, 1 neutral, 1 ground. Neutral and ground are bonded at the meter pole main ...
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1 answer
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Ground and neutral switched in old wiring

The house I live in has old wiring I haven't ever really looked at much. I have decided to add solar so have started looking at it. We are off grid and currently the entire house comes out on a ...
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3 answers
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2 motion sensors on railing with LED

I have a rather complicated situation with the LEDs I'm trying to install. There will be a railing on top of the posts and I’m want to attach the LEDs to the bottom of the railing. Here’s were it gets ...
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2 answers
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What is the busbar rating in my main service panel?

I don't understand the difference between "device rating" and "meter socket rating" on my MSP? I'm most interesting in the busbar rating? Here are pictures of MSP: https://...
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0 answers
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Power supply for new television ... C14 10A plug to C7/8 25A cord/plug [closed]

The previous owner of my flat buried a sony tv power cord (10A c14 plug) in the wall instead of creating an elevated plug socket. I recently purchased a new tv and would like to avoid tearing apart ...
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2 votes
2 answers
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Why are my lights flickering at specific times of the day

I have this problem where a few fluorescent lights in my house are flickering at specific times of the day. Usually it starts at 06:00 AM and also starts 18:00 PM. They flick for about 10~20 minutes ...
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3 votes
2 answers
616 views

What's the preferred method for connecting #8 wires in a junction box?

I have several floor joists in my basement that need to be sistered up but unfortunately the 8 gauge wire that powers the AC compressor runs diagonally through all of them. Disconnecting it from the ...
2 votes
1 answer
85 views

Can I split a 400 amp service this way?

I recently purchased the lot next door in Lincoln County, Oregon. I’d like to build a shop now and someday build another house or let one of my kids do it. Can I have a 4/0 service wire run from the ...
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2 answers
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Reversed light switch [closed]

Recently had a 48 hour power outage. When the power came back on, two of the light switches that were on when it went off are now reversed. Down is on and up is off. They are both single switches that ...
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4 votes
2 answers
354 views

What wire to use for 30Amp Dryer outlet 75 feet from the panel?

I am moving a dryer and need to wire a new 240V outlet. The outlet is 75 feet from the panel. I'm installing a 30 Amp GFCI breaker and converting the 3 wires to 4 wires . I had thought that 10/3 wire ...
2 votes
2 answers
77 views

How can I conceal an electrical box mounted on a wall with an angle passing through it?

Moved into a house with a 2 gang socket mounted on an angled bit of wall. It's a galvanized steel back box with holes for mounting that have been left exposed. This is in my child's room and starting ...
3 votes
2 answers
118 views

Can a fuse panel supporting knob-and-tube wiring be replaced without a new feed or updated circuits?

Home built before 1910. It is a 3-story structure with plaster walls and some BX, some cable and a lot of knob and tube. In the hallway on the second floor is a fuse panel for that floor and some of ...
0 votes
1 answer
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Bonding device to box when using EMT as EGC

I have an outlet run using EMT as the EGC to a metal box. Once I'm at the box do I need to connect a wire from the device to the metal box, or is the grounding ear of the device a sufficient ground ...
2 votes
2 answers
303 views

Removing wires from this kind of lightbulb socket

I'm trying to uninstall/install cables from/to lightbulb sockets as shown below. The cables go into two of the small round holes as shown in the second picture. There is no obvious way to squeeze, ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Share a electrical disconnect heat pump/car charger

Outside my house I have a electrical disconnect that had 60amp 240v going into it, previous owner went overkill for his big Tesla. Last year I used the disconnect to add a much needed heat pump, I ...
2 votes
1 answer
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What does the A stand for in the type designation for GE THQAL Breakers?

Are the (old) GE Type THQAL breakers allowed to be used in modern GE PowerMark Gold load centers? What does the A stand for in the type designation? I noticed that it is for 60C wire. Is this the only ...
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2 answers
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Wiring GFCI outlets to eliminate downstream GFCI protection

If you rewire a GFCI outlet so that the downstream outlets are no longer GFCI protected (move the two upper wires down to attach to the same terminals as the lower two wires), then if there is still a ...
1 vote
1 answer
96 views

Anything wrong with this exterior junction box?

I found some wiring that looks like a handyman did it and was wondering if I could get some input on why it may not be to code or a safety hazard. I think a circuit in the house was tapped and ran ...
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1 answer
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Crushed light bulb killed a circuit but none of the breakers tripped

My wife was putting Christmas decorations back in storage and broke the the light bulb. She said she saw sparks. An adjacent closet light which is switched no longer worked. I checked the breaker box ...
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1 vote
2 answers
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Can neutral and ground from multiple hot cables be merged?

There are two live 2-wire 12 gauge cables entering a junction box, and one 3-wire 12 gauge cable traveler exiting said junction box. Can the two 2-wire cables on separate breakers be connected to the ...
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

Liquid Tite Flexible Conduit Into Breaker Panel

I am adding two circuits to an existing circuit panel in my home. One will be for a welder and will be on a 50a 2 pole breaker and terminate in a NEMA 6-50 outlet. It will be 3 6AWG THHN wires in 1&...
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Wiring up a ceiling fan using 3 way and 4 way switches

I’m installing a ceiling fan with a remote and I have 3 way switches and 4 way switches to that fan. I want to use the remote and the wall switches. Can anyone help me out with this?
-2 votes
0 answers
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I have wires that were capped and cut off from flowing anywhere why are they popping [closed]

So i had my cousin who btw is a master electrician he capped off and old outlet and the wires insides becuase they were sparking nd obviously unsafe and now they are sparking again but he killed them ...
3 votes
2 answers
351 views

Troubleshooting a dryer throwing a breaker

About 5-6 years ago I bought a Samsung dryer, and at the time they installed it with a 3-conductor non-grounded power cord, because that was the kind of receptacle we had. Standard breaker, no ...
5 votes
2 answers
901 views

Lightswitch Feels Loose

I noticed last week that our light switch was stiff when turning off the lights. This evening, it's not stiff anymore and requires little effort to turn it on or off. I was also able to move the ...
1 vote
1 answer
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How should I run power to devices mounted on posts or plywood backers in my basement? [duplicate]

My home (Long Island NY) was built in 1903 and has tube and knob, Bx, cable… it’s a mess. Not easily rewired as it’s 3 stories, 6000 sq ft and I’d literally have to open all the walls and ceilings. ...
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0 answers
33 views

Can SE cable run from service drop inside the building, out to meter, and then to disconnect

Lateral drop connects to home, then runs down the inside wall to the meter (outside). Is this legal?
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Two 200 amp breaker boxes in new house

I live in Mississippi. I am in the process of building a new house. I have two 200 amp breaker boxes on the inside of the house. I can’t find a 400 amp meter base. Is there another way to connect this ...
2 votes
1 answer
28 views

Triple Despard to new Triple Rocker Switch

Switching out lighting and outlets in our 1981 home from wonderful khaki to something more modern. I've done 3-way and 4-way switches, outlets, GFCI, etc. all over the house, but the bathrooms have ...
0 votes
1 answer
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Looks like 12 gauge into box with two switches - looks like 14 gauge going out [duplicate]

We just bought a new (to us) house (built in the early 90s) and I was replacing a couple of switches in one box. It is a 20 amp circuit and the hot wire coming into the box is 12 gauge (I measured ...
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2 answers
116 views

Can I directly power a warmfloor heating wire with mains power for testing purposes?

Sometimes on a jobsite the lighting will be wired up but the lightswitches have not been installed yet ... so you drag a live extension cord up to the wall and stab the romex hot/neutral in and ... ...
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0 answers
53 views

Remove a 4-way switch

I have 3 switches on the same circuit that power lights in my family room and garage. Two 3-ways are located at each end of my family room and the 4-way is in my garage. I want to remove the garage ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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What is the best way to crimp high temperature wire with uninsulated quick disconnect terminals?

I need to make a jumper wire to connect an electric range surface element to its temperature limiter. What I have available is posted in these pictures: high temp Teflon fiber glass insulated wire ...
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1 vote
3 answers
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Does grounding bar need to be connected to conduit?

According to my last electrics post I noticed I needed to connect all of my ground wires to a grounding bar. I’ve done that. Now I need to know if I’m okay with just letting it be as is or if I need ...
0 votes
3 answers
114 views

Need help identifying electrical wiring

My house was built in 1985. It has the 3 aluminum wires for the range outlet. The previous range was a 2001 model and was directly connected in a box. I wish to install an outlet. I have been told ...
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0 answers
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Does my service panel require a dedicated ground? [duplicate]

I installed this 100 amp Homeline panel. I realized after I installed it that I hadn’t grounded the box. As seen in the picture I have two 120V hots and a neutral. I’m not sure if I can use the ...
0 votes
2 answers
129 views

What is the electric noise in lamp while turned off?

I installed a couple of GU10 wall-mounted lights above my bed recently and it all went fine. Tonight, I noticed a perceptible noise coming from one of them while it was off. Call it a hum or buzz, ...
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Connect an in-line fan to the thermostat

I’m trying to connect an inline booster fan to my ecobee3. The fan I have is an AC INFINITY CLOUDLINE T6. I would like to have it turn on whenever the fan of the HVAC is turned on. The in-line fan has ...
0 votes
0 answers
38 views

Kitchen lights flickering when Festool sander is run

Our kitchen lights are all LED 120vac drop in bulbs. When I run my Festool vacuum and sander in the basement, the lights upstairs do a full on disco party. Any thoughts on what I can do to resolve ...
3 votes
1 answer
589 views

Rewiring three way knob and tube

I'm rewiring part of my house to get rid of knob and tube. I found a weird situation: A light socket in a stairwell has two wires: incoming hot and outgoing hot to upper switch. Upper switch has 3 ...
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0 votes
2 answers
92 views

Bathroom exhaust fan receptacle reading only 16volts, why?

Our bathroom fan recently stopped working. Even when the switch is on, it didn't turn at all. No motor hum either, just silence. So we pulled the fan out of the box and tested the voltage in the ...
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0 votes
1 answer
17 views

Separating ceiling fan from led ceiling light circuit

I've had some experience of electrical work at home, but I haven't really done much with lighting. In my new house the previous owner for some reason, decided to make one switch in a bedroom do two ...
12 votes
2 answers
2k views

Should a device with a non-polarized plug touching hot and ground trip a breaker?

I have the following: a NEMA 5-20 receptable (typical 20amp grounded receptacle) mounted in an exposed work cover on a metal box fed with 12ga conductors through EMF. a typical string of holiday ...
0 votes
3 answers
43 views

Adding a third light circuit onto existing

I have included a diagram of my current basement lighting setup - this is how the house was built. Switches 1/2 control Light 1, Switch 3 controls Light 2. I would like to add Light 3, and Switches 4/...
0 votes
1 answer
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Wanting to add a 80 amp subpanel to my upstairs rooms. My house was built in the 1870's so electric was an afterthought

My house was built in the 1870's and the electric was an afterthought. Currently my 3 br upstairs is be fed by a single 20 amp breaker . I want to add an 80 amp sub to isolate the upstairs and have ...
0 votes
0 answers
39 views

Wiring a 2-gang light switch

I would like to remove an old 2 gang dimmer swtch and replace it with a standard 2 gang switch. My new 2 gang switch is a 2 way switch but I will be using it as a one way switch. The current wiring ...
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0 votes
1 answer
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Had to replace breaker box after power spike

Starting on 12/27/22 after a massive wind storm we lost power. 3 days later after using generator with no issues the main power came back on. From that moment the power started to flicker, dim, ...
2 votes
3 answers
238 views

EV charger installation setup

I have purchased a new Tesla model Y and figuring out options to install a home charger in my garage. Issue: I live in MA and I do not have a basement or crawl space. My circuit panel is on the ground ...
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1 vote
2 answers
60 views

Securing conduit to edge of stud

I’m looking for advice on how to bring this conduit run up to code, 2 issues in particular: Securing the conduit to the end of the stud, which I believe is required within 3’ of the box. Are nail ...
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Electric furnace install wiring

I just purchased an MBR1200AA1 with 20kw heat strip from goodman to replace an old furnace from the 70s thats recently gone beyond simple repairs. Want to install it but came across 2 breakers, one ...
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