Do it Yourself: RE: [DIY] Replaced a light switch. Question. Photo.

14 June 2012

RE: [DIY] Replaced a light switch. Question. Photo.

I always tape over the screw points and wire whenever I change switches or outlets. If you want, you could straighten the wires and trim them shorter so the insulation is closer to the screws, but with those old wires, they might end up breaking and if you don't have enough slack, you definately will have to wirenut new wire to them.

To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
From: subprong@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:21:37 -0600
Subject: Re: [DIY] Replaced a light switch. Question. Photo.

My apologies as I did not explain properly. I'm not adding wiring or anything like that. I just replaced the faulty switch. Meaning I simply unscrewed the wiring on the old switch and rescrewed the existing wiring onto the new switch (as seen in the photo). I'm curious on what I need to do with the little bit of exposed wiring that you see past the screw points. Yes, agreed, the cloth is falling apart. I've even heard an electrician state that he doesn't like to mess with that sort of thing unless everything is going to be stripped out and newly wired. Thx.

On Wed, Jun 13, 2012 at 4:02 PM, Ron Johnson <l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com> wrote:

I've come across this type of wiring a lot. Usually, I use white and black electrical tape on the wire as far back into the box as I can then wirenut a short length - about 9" - of white and black wire, tape the wire and wirenuts (something I always try to do anyway) then cram it all in the back of the box so that the new wire that I put in is the only wire I deal with.

That cloth is easy to fall apart in most cases I've come across. If there is any way to replace it, do so.

To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
From: subprong@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:34:25 -0600
Subject: [DIY] Replaced a light switch. Question. Photo.

I replaced a light switch. Photo at the link

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DoIt_Yourself/photos/album/283632268/pic/1233258857/view

The wiring is old. I believe there is black casing over the wiring and then wrapped in that cloth sheathing. Any idea what that cloth is? Is it fire retardant?

The casing and cloth sheathing seem to be delicate. The wire is extremely stiff. The wire is exposed past the screw point on the light switch and might be resting on the plastic portion of the light switch. Do I need to wrap that area with electrical tape? If so, can I simply wrap the tape around the cloth sheathing and wiring or do I need to roll that sheathing back and wrap it around what I hope will be black casing surrounding the wire. Thanks.