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Questions tagged [switch]

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For questions about switches, i.e. electrical devices used to manually open and close an electric circuit on a routine basis.

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41 views

Identifying wires in an Intermatic pool pump timer

I’m trying to positively identify what is on each of the four terminals in a pool pump’s timer box (before replacing it with a z-wave smart switch): The trick is that both line- and load-side wires ...
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1answer
37 views

14/2 wire 2 way switch adding 14/3 wire to make it a 3 way

I want to turn a 2 way switch into 3 way with 14/3 wire. I am assuming wire nut the white wires, and put the other wires on the switches. I bought 2 3 way switches as well.
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3answers
41 views

Light switch no power when on

I have this bathroom light switch, when I turned it on, I tested power between red and black wire, there is no power If I turned it off, there is power red/black line How does it work exactly? I don’...
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54 views

Need Help I'm moving a light switch from one wall to the other, but I ran into a problem

I recently moved into a house and I'm converting the attached Garage into a workshop. The thing is the light switch was on the other side of the Garage by the Garage door, I decided to move the switch ...
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2answers
49 views

Ceiling light wiring problems, please advise

I was changing my light fittings as they were old and yellow. My living room has 2 lights on the ceiling at opposite ends Controlled by a single on off switch. The first fitting was normal, red/live ...
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0answers
20 views

(Need help)- Can I wire a ceiling fan/light fixture from an existing 3-way switched outlet?

Link to Imgur for pictures with reference drawings: https://imgur.com/a/ETfCvZl As title says, I'm trying to wire a new ceiling fan/light fixure. I currently have a 3 way switch that controls one ...
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2answers
66 views

Is this outlet wired to a switch correctly?

I have been upgrading to grounded outlets in my 1950s house and I just want to make sure that this particular outlet was wired appropriately by the previous homeowner. This outlet is controlled by a ...
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1answer
35 views

when I turn off the breaker, light goes out but I still see some voltage with my voltage checker

there are two switches in the box. One goes to an inside light the other goes to an outside light. i turn off the breaker and both lights go out. when I check with my voltage checker, I don't see ...
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2answers
707 views

Shared ground on bathroom light, fan, heater combo

I plan on replacing the exhaust fan in my bathroom and want to replace it with a light/heater/fan combo. In doing so, I want to be able to power both the vanity light and the fan light with a single ...
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2answers
668 views

Handybox Extension

Can you stack a handybox with an extension outside of the drywall? This puts the total box size at just shy for 4". I know handyboxes can be used with conduit, but can they be double-stacked in a ...
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1answer
34 views

3-Toggle to 2-Toggle

I’d like to replace the three toggle switch with a two toggle switch. The leftmost switch (as shown in the below photo) does not control anything in my bathroom. I’d like to replace this leftmost ...
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1answer
34 views

Gfi outlet trying to install light switch and light

While trying to install light switch and light from an existing gfi outlet the circuit faults whenever switch is turned on also the light comes on in the off position 12 gauge 3 wire coming to ...
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2answers
90 views

Why three wires?

I have a carport light that takes two switches to operate. An inside switch essentially sends power to an outside switch. In other words, when the inside switch is in the "on" position, the outside ...
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0answers
49 views

Reed switch not maintaining state

I have a reed switch that connects to a relay to control lights in a closet. switch is normally closed. when the closet door is open, it turns on the light, when I close the door it TURNS OFF the ...
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5answers
2k views

Sump pump automated battery backup

I have 1/3 horsepower sump pump currently plugged into my home's 120 volt outlet. I have a 105 amp hour 12-volt battery and a 1200 watt pure sine inverter ready to go when the power goes out. The ...
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2answers
51 views

Wiring a bathroom exhaust fan light and Outlet on one switch

I'm having a problem trying to replace my bathroom switch....there are 9 separate wires coming out from the wall...1 red, 4 white, 4 black...there is an exhaust fan and then there is a light above the ...
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1answer
31 views

Well pump only works with on/off switch not control box

My well pump is setup with an on/off switch that works fine as well as a control box that should be turning it on when activated. Now it just makes a clicking sound and nothing happens. I am ...
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0answers
23 views

goodman limit switch problem

I have a 2013 goodman 3T gas pack. It is being intermittent and telling me there is a limit switch problem (4 blinks). I try to catch it when it goes off which is about every other day, but by the ...
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1answer
54 views

Trying to wire switch outlet combo to existing two outlet. But the outlets each have 3 wires

I have 2 outlets, I want to replace with switch outlet combo (outlet always hot). But looking online, I keep seeing everything has only one white neutral, but in my case, both outlets have a black ...
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1answer
31 views

Furnace Troubleshooting- Inconsistent Error Codes

My American Standard furnace ("Standard" Model, year 2003, 12 or 13 SEER) gave an Error Code 2 when first turned on- "External lockout, retries or recycles exceeded." (4 fail to ignite cycles ...
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1answer
64 views

Why do I have multiple connections on a single common connection?

I'm in the process of trying to add a smart relays to my light switches across the house. In most cases I've managed fine and I understand how the circuit works, to me that is critical before I make ...
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2answers
31 views

3 way light switch with timer - flickering

I have a 3 way light switch which works fine with a regular light switch. That is, I can control on/off without issue from either switch. I moved one of the switches to a timer, the Intermatic ST01, ...
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1answer
74 views

Fried dimmer turns lights on/off but new dimmer won't

I had two black wires, one red wire and two white wires coming from the ceiling (I suspect there used to be a fan with a light). In the switch box, there was a black and a white wire (with a green ...
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0answers
32 views

Problem with electrical switch

I have a switch that’s supplied with electric but can’t find out what is it for How can I find out what is that switch for?
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1answer
57 views

Light switch sizzled

I had maintenance turn off my breaker and fix the pull tab on my ceiling fan. Then turned it back on... Few minutes later.... I turned on a light switch and it made a sizzling noice! Maintenance came ...
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1answer
54 views

How can I use a switch for outlets to control a new overhead light?

I am trying to rewire our bedroom so that a wall switch that turns on/off half of all receptacles in the room will instead control a ceiling light and leave the receptacles (both halves) always hot ...
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1answer
23 views

Installing a new smart switch into box, wanting to double check plan (primarily with regards to ground wires)

I'm looking to install a new smart switch into a 3 gang box. The current box has 3 toggle switches, each of which is without connection to a ground wire. The box itself has 5 sets of wires coming into ...
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1answer
34 views

LED light with built-in switch; installing auto-timer between switch & outlet,

LED aquarium light (a bar with many small bulbs) with manual switch built into cord; Customer requested automatic timer. Placed automatic timer between LED's plug & wall outlet. Functioned well ...
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1answer
37 views

Wall Switch | Want to Install Rocker Switch

As I have mentioned in other posts of mine - I struggle with electrical work. Now, I have an issue. Today, I went to change a couple of switches from whatever they were to rocker switches. Now when ...
4
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2answers
1k views

Need help wiring two lights from a switch at the end

I am trying to wire two lights in my shed with a switch at the end of the circuit. Power comes from a subpanel on the back of my house and is connected to a GFI outlet. Power then goes underground ...
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2answers
45 views

Replacing a dimmer out of a 2 gang switch

My girlfriend bought an old apartment in NYC and we are trying to replace one of the dimmers with a standard switch. The 2 gang consist of the dimmer (Controls the living room lights) and a standard ...
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2answers
53 views

My light won’t turn off

We are trying to replace a lamp but the switch won’t turn it off. The old lamp had 3 cables but the new just has 2. The old lamp had a blue connected to the red. We tried different combinations (...
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3answers
511 views

THHN through EMT - then convert to Romex?

I want to wire outlets and light in my unfinished attic. There is a light switch at the bottom of the stairs, cable (I think THHN?) that runs through EMT through the wall and comes out upstairs and ...
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1answer
31 views

LED security light adding a switch

I have this LED solar security light. Now I want to put this in the back of a shipping container and I want to have a switch all the way in the front of the shipping container. I have no previous ...
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0answers
35 views

Fixing previous wiring at switch for recessed lighting

I moved in to this house and the ceiling fan and recessed lighting worked (we did demo in the master and the lights worked). Painters came in right after that and the lights have never worked since. I ...
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1answer
56 views

Ceiling fan stops running after a while

I have a ceiling fan fixture with lights. The fan runs fine for a few hours or so and then suddenly seems to lose power and slow to a stop. The switch stays on and the circuit breakers are not ...
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3answers
96 views

Simple light switch wiring upgrade to new switch - NO NEUTRAL

I'm trying to upgrade a light switch and would be grateful if someone could tell me what goes where. I've tried various combinations but the light either does not turn on or stays on permanently.
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0answers
51 views

Breaker trips when both switches on circuit are on

I've got a ceiling fan/light wired to a double switch (like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-Combination-Double-Switch-White-R62-05224-2WS/202027008) The source is at the switch and ...
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0answers
21 views

Wiring can lights

I have installed a fan/light kit with 2 switches. I want to add can lights also on a separate switch. Can I tie into the fan/light wiring to do this?
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1answer
31 views

Ceiling fan light fixture blew

I mistakenly put in a dimmer light bulb and, when I pulled the string to turn on the lights, it blew the light fixture of my ceiling fan. I've tried changing the bulbs, but the fixture isn't working ...
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2answers
44 views

Fan switch on thermostat--on or auto

If I leave my fan switch on "on" instead of "auto" and the temperature in the house reaches the desired temperature will the fan stay on and continue to push cool air out even though the thermostat ...
2
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2answers
152 views

Laundry Room outlet and light not working

My overhead light and outlet in my laundry room are not working, all of the sudden. They are on the same breaker and nothing else in the house is on that breaker. I just replaced the light switch and ...
1
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1answer
41 views

Switch for two different supplies

Would it be safe to use a three way switch to run two different hots to one outlet. Our RV is 30 amp, with two A/C’s. Both running they pull 24 amps, so one has to be shut off for the microwave. I can ...
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1answer
99 views

Can I install a switch upstream of my service panel for regular shuttoff duty?

I lived in Europe where it is common to have on/off switches on all electrical wall outlets. I asked my electical parts store if I could replace the cicuit breakers in my home with switch rated (swd) ...
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1answer
85 views

Uncapped wires in light switch box

I was trying to install a smart light switch, I don't have a neutral, so I can't do that. However, when I looked in the box, I noticed this other group of wires pushed to the back. They aren't capped ...
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4answers
61 views

3-way and 4-way switches

My kitchen lights operate with 3 wall switches. Two of the switches work properly only if the third (3-way) switch is in the on position. I assumed that the third (3-way) switch was malfunctioning, ...
1
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1answer
53 views

How can I fit a face plate to two devices in separate single-gang boxes?

I ran into an issue when changing an outlet and switch in what I thought was a double gang box. After opening it up I found it was 2 single gang boxes next to each other. The previous switch and ...
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2answers
59 views

3-way switch issue

I'm having an issue with a 3-way switch that I have not gotten around to fixing in many years. When I use switch A to turn on the light and then use switch B to try to turn it off, it flickers off and ...
2
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2answers
69 views

Removing a switch

I have a light switch that turns on an electrical outlet. I want to remove the light switch completely and leave the electrical outlet always "on". When I turned the power off to the room and ...
2
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1answer
48 views

limit detection angle of a motion sensor light switch

Is there a way to limit the horizontal angle of a motion based indoor (occupancy) light switch to it doesn't pick up movement within, say 90 degree horizontal angle only

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