Questions tagged [neutral]
For questions relating to the neutral wire, or "grounded conductor" as it's sometimes called. The neutral, or "grounded conductor" in NEC, is the normal return path for electricity in a household AC circuit.
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New wafer lights stopped working after a week
I have two wafer lights connected to a switch at the end of a circuit. Here's what my diagram looks like this.
I replaced the 2 wafer lights about a week ago and they worked fine. They stopped ...
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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, ...
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How to Fix my DIY Smart Switch Install
I've been installing smart switches and mostly seems like working fine. This one location though, seemed okay at first but after a power outage the breaker tripped unless I removed the right switch (...
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Switched outlet has "open neutral" when switch is off, and shows "wired correctly" when switch is on
Switched outlet has "open neutral" when switch is off, and shows "wired correctly" when switch is on. All other outlets in the room show "wired correctly" so the only ...
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Lug for 250mcm neutral wire in Siemens panel
I'm pulling feeders for an outbuilding 350' away. To keep the voltage drop down, I'm using 250mcm wire (150amp service). My question is what's the best way to land the neutral wire to the panel? It'...
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Should non-working US 110V AC GFCI outlet that shows open neutral, but trips and resets fine be replaced?
I have a GFCI outlet that has not worked for a while. The downstream outlet (there is only one from what I can tell) connected to it worked for a while, but no longer does.
I decided to find out more ...
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Pull 14/3 between two switches to bring neutral to one of them
I've read a bunch of similar questions, but none actually detail the wiring for what I'm trying to accomplish. This is in the US, and in my state NEC 2020 applies.
I have two switches on the same ...
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What part # will allow me to add neutral lug for subpanel?
I am adding a 150A subpanel (Both panels are Square D Homeline), and I cannot find the part to add a neutral lug to attach the wire to the main panel's neutral. I believe that the best place to ...
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How can I install a smart switch that needs a neutral wire?
I have already replaced some existing dumb switches with smart ones
However, I am having trouble understanding the connection in the switch box that controls a light fixture on my wall in the ...
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How to override the need for a neutral wire for an oven hookup
I have had my kitchen remodeled. I have new cabinets and a stone countertop. When it came to hooking up the oven, I was told I needed a neutral wire for the oven to work after the cabinets and ...
Bill Henry
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How can I test a smart switch requiring a neutral wire using an outlet?
I plan to mount floodlights on the back of my house. I have a Romex running through the wall between the mounting point and my electrical box. I want to test my floodlight before I go to the effort ...
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Separating Ground and Neutrals in Mainpanel before installing sub panel
I'm planning to get a 100 amp sub panel installed in my garage but got conflicting opinions on a point from different master electricians. The point is one electrician is saying it's a must to ...
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Chandelier Wiring (Potential Mislabel)
I unboxed a chandelier today and found the pre capped and labeled wiring that in this picture (if you look carefully one on the left has a small white thread on it, one on the right a small green ...
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How should I install a dimmer switch that calls for neutral-to-hot connections?
I have 6 dimmable spotlights and there was previously a normal one way switch to turn them on and off. I bought a dimmer switch and in the installation instruction it's saying that I have to put live ...
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How an I add circuits to an electrical panel with no neutral bar?
I live in a very, very old home. The electrical panel has been upgraded at some point and has circuit breakers (not fuses). What concerns me is that the neutrals (about 5 wires total) are all joined ...
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How do I wire a smart switch in electrical box that contains 4 neutral wires?
I'm trying to install a Lutron Claro smart switch in my bathroom which shares an electrical box with a Lutron diva smart dimmer. The dimmer doesn't require a neutral and works fine, but I can't figure ...
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What causes sometimes low voltage & sometimes high voltage on different circuits in my house? And I have to run 2 space heaters for either to work [duplicate]
I’ve had issues with flickering lights for a while & over the summer we added a window unit to my sons room & you could barely tell it was running. I used my meter to check several outlets ...
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junction box with no voltage between conductors but 120 V between conductors and ground
Two 12 gauge cables meet at a junction box. The black wires are connected. The red wires are connected. One red wire has a black electrical tape tag. There is no voltage between the red and black ...
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Neutral plug issue
I have three outlets (that I can find) that are showing open neutral. I have 80v across hot and neutral, 120v at hot to ground and 28v neutral to ground.
I also have one switch to a light that I think ...
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Changing single electrical switch to dual switch-outlet: How to connect neutral wire?
I want to change my single switch to a dual switch-outlet. The instructions seem simple enough, but the current wiring doesn't match anything I've found in home wiring books.
There are three wires ...
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Can I shorten the neutral pigtail of a GFCI breaker?
I want to clean up clutter in my 200 amp GE Electrical panel prior to installing a 50 amp transfer switch. Can I uncoil AND shorten the neutral pigtail of the GFCI breakers?
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Is it a code violation to use a 50A plug/outlets as a transfer switch alternative? If so, is there an NEC compliant option?
Edit--this appears to be a duplicate of this question, which remains unanswered.
Summary: I'm trying to find a way to feed a 50A load panel from two different sources, each with an existing neutral/...
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Rewiring a switch to bring in neutral
My master bedroom has a single light switch for the overhead fixture; however, it was built in the 50's and has end-line "power at the light" wiring like so:
Image borrowed from this ...
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14/3 to add neutral in light switch, is it possible?
I was wondering, is it possible to use 14/3 Romex from the light fixture to the light switch and use the red and black wire to switch a light on and off, and leave the neutral so it fits NEC ...
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Current on ground conductor with main breaker off
This is a follow-up to my previous question about a bad neutral. The dimming lights/fluctuating voltage problem mostly went away after the PoCo tightened the neutral connection on my side of the meter ...
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Wiring connections for lights in commercial building producing strange results [closed]
I am having a rough time. Exit sign black and white connect to exit sign . It doesn't come on. But when the ground wire is connected to to the neutral wire the lights come on. Other end pole that has ...
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Neutral wires in US, do they run in a hub/spoke pattern on a single circuit or serial?
Following on from my previous question about adding neutral wire.
I've read on here about neutral wires not being crossed between circuits, which makes sense after reading. But I'm trying to learn ...
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add neutral wire to existing "bundle" for smart switch - need help understanding box
Attached is a markup picture to help identify wiring. This is in the USA. There are wires that come in from the bottom left of the box and from the top right of the box.
I'm just a DIYer, and I'm ...
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ITE EQ Load Center neutral / ground update
Here’s an update on the main panel neutral issues that I raised originally in another question. I relabeled the photo, and made a diagram to show the problem. This post restates the issue, I hope more ...
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How can I determine whether a bad neutral is on my side or utility side?
I'm experiencing the classic symptoms of a bad or lost neutral and want to determine if the issue is my responsibility or the utility's. Voltage fluctuates plus or minus 6 volts when a large 120V load ...
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What is the purpose of the electrical distribution neutral wire?
In US and Canada at least, the neutral wire that comes into the house is eventually connected to the local ground inside the main breaker panel.
Since it is grounded, what purpose is served by the ...
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ITE EQ Load Center neutral / ground questions #3
In my 200A ITE main panel there's a feed to a 100-amp sub-panel that’s elsewhere in the basement, via a 100-amp breaker at the bottom of the main panel. The photo shows the wire (#1 AL, I think) and ...
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ITE EQ Load Center neutral / ground questions
The photo below shows the upper end of my main panel which is a 200A ITE EQ Load Center. I have a bunch of questions about grounding and neutrals here but I'll start with one on the design:
At the ...
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Why is my outlet failing shortly after being rewired? [closed]
I was working in the gas station and had a scorched outlet. I removed the outlet. The white wire was jumped over to the bare copper wire. I have never seen this before, so I called an electrician. He ...
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KASA Smart Switch Wiring with Many Existing Neutrals
I am running into an issue issue installing a 3-way and a dimmer switch into a 2 gang box. Both of the current switches seem to have a painted over connector (images below). Maybe I can get by with 2 ...
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Do these light switches have neutral wires?
My house was built in 1979.
I know that certain smart light switches like Kasa require a neutral wire.
Here I have photos of 2 light switches (3 photos of the first, and 2 photos of the second).
Do ...
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NEMA 10-30 Ground & Neutral Bonded
Remodeling a 1970’s era condo. The current dryer receptacle has a NEMA 10-30R on a 30 amp breaker. While we are going to be using gas instead of a 240v dryer, I decided to pull the plate and make sure ...
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Generac GP8000e/Need to be grounded? Remove Neutral?
I have a Generac GP8000e generator that I plan on back feeding the main panel of my home with the portable generator, power inlet box L14-30a and breaker. First, I will install an interlock between ...
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How Can I Install 3 Way Smart Switches That Require Neutral
I'm trying to replace 2 sets of three way switches with smart switches.
One end of each set requires neutral, and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a straight forward way to accomplish that with ...
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How to size neutral if only/mostly 240 being used in an outbuilding?
I'm running a line to an outbuilding where the main use will be as a 48A vehicle charger. At most 2 120v circuits, one 20A and one 15A lighting. If I have #2 conductors, will a #2 neutral be ...
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Changing out GFCI disconnect for new hot tub
I purchased a new hot tub. On the current disconnect, using an ohmmeter, I get 0 ohms between the bare conductor and white neutral. I wired the original box and had it inspected but not sure how in-...
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Sharing Neutrals - How To Correct?
I have a 12/3 NM cable landing on two separate 20 amp breakers sharing a neutral between the two. They are landing on a Dishwasher/Garbage Disposal outlet.
I understand this is NOT to code since there ...
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240v panel-no neutral
This is the culmination of a few posts (Disconnecting 240 hots without disconnecting neutral?, 240v only subpanel, no ground?) to see if this seems right.
I had a subpanel A with 20A double pole ...
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Should my smart switch be connected to the neutral wire from another cable?
I installed a Leviton smart switch in a 3-way circuit and the corresponding coordinating switch in the picture (right switch). The lights function as they should using both switches.
However, I ...
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240v only subpanel, no ground?
I'm running a subpanel (new) back to my main area (main is full) so running it off another subpanel that was already there (old).
I really only need this to feed my welder which is 240v only (plug is ...
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200 amp subfeed off Siemens panel
I ran out of space in my "main" (sub)panel (A siemens PN4040B1200C) (my real main panel is the meter-main combo on the exterior of my house), so I'm trying to install another subpanel next ...
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Alternatives to running a single Neutral wire?
I have a switch box with two switches. I'd like to replace one of them - a single-way switch controlling a light in the hallway (which is controlled by no other switches) - with a smart switch. The ...
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Why would bridging Neutral and Ground trip a GFCI breaker?
I have a main breaker + GFCI combo breaker in my panel. I decided to do some work on an outlet and accidentally bridged ground and neutral, with the room breaker off and the live wire dead. The GFCI ...
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How do I check if my outlet's ground and neutral are connected correctly?
When we moved to a new house I noticed a strangely wired up outlet:
For this outlet, I am really suspicious whether the grounding is messed up and mixed up with the Neutral.
Normally Neutral and the ...
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Living room light, bedroom and AC switch are not working. I checked both switch, both have power coming in also the neutral. Lost of neutral
It was a generator
Well I checked the distribution board for power which was there in all the breakers. The neutral had light in it when tasted with a tester so I left to check the wire for the light, ...
