Cartoon Network

15 April 2020

Re: [DIY] Neutral Wire

 

I did not mean to imply that there was a white wire inside the box containing the switch.  There is not   I am sure that power goes to the light and I break one side of the circuit with the switch.  Only two wires in the switch box.  When they are connected, the light comes on.

I SUSPECT that there is a white in a separate outlet below the switch.  The question is if I can get to that white wire can I install my switch?



J Hnidy
the Villages, Florida

On Wed, Apr 15, 2020, 09:08 Ron Johnson l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


The bare wire is the ground, not the neutral.  The NEC code now requires an active neutral in at least one switch in the room - whether it is used or not - for this very reason, but there are so many wired the old way that you may need to run a neutral.

 

You say there is a white wire in the switch box.  Sometimes the power goes to the light (or outlet, if it is switch operated) then a pair of wires goes to the switch.  The electrician is supposed to wrap the white wire with a different color tape (usually black, red, or blue) so it is not confused with the normal white common (neutral), but a lot of the handymen don't do that.  If the white wire is connected to the switch itself, it is NOT a common.

 

If you are talking about the outlet itself, and the wire is connected to the left side of the outlet (the larger slot for the plug) then that is a neutral. You can test it by checking the voltage between the ground and each wire - you should get 120 on the hot and 0 on the neutral (sometimed you might get a low reading like 20 or 50, but that has to do with the fact that there are other things on that circuit).

 

Not knowing exactly the situation you've got, I can only say get an experienced electrician to look at it.  If you are not familiar with electrical systems and methods, you can easily blow a circuit breaker or burn out the very items you want to install. Or worse, start a fire and the insurance company will probably refuse the claim since it was not done by a certified electrician.

 


From: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> on behalf of Jerry Hnidy jhnidy@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 10:02 PM
To: Do It Yourself <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [DIY] Neutral Wire
 
 

When I chose my new wifi wall switch, I read that I would require a neutral wire.  Because I never ask enough questions and always jump to conclusions, I thought that meant the bare copper wire.  The wiring diagrams prove that this is not the case and I am now one wire short.  Questions:

Are they talking about the white wire that does appear in boxes that house outlets?  If I am lucky and can fish a wire up from a wall outlet that happens to be near the wall switch, would that do the job?  Would that pass code?  Is there a better way?

Thanks

J Hnidy
the Villages, Florida



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Posted by: Jerry Hnidy <jhnidy@gmail.com>
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