Switches Have Me In Stitches

I have a covered (rafters, decking, shingles, etc) screen room out back. It used to have a single light, which I wanted to replace with a ceiling fan with light kit, independently switched. So I bought this fan/light dimmer: http://www.lowes.com/pd_69955-539-S2...d=10151&rpp=24



I checked the wire at the old light, and as it was 14-2, I removed it and replaced it with 14-3. It wasn't until after I spent 3 hours crawling around the attic on my stomach running the new line that it hit me....the circuit is on a 20 amp breaker. The line running to the switch, and a jumper running from it to 5 wall outlets in the living room, is all 12-2.



The new line runs straight from the switch to the fan box, with no other outlets. So while I doubt it is up to code, it seems like it should be ok. The fan/light won't pull anywhere near enough power to overheat the 14 gauge line, and if there is an actual fault, it should trip the 20 amp breaker anyway.



I would very much like to hear from the experts. Running the 14-3 was a serious pain in the butt, and replacing it with 12-3 would be just as bad. So if this is safe, I'd rather not replace it. But if I am risking a fire, it is obviously worth the hassle.
      

Greetings all.



This is my first post here, I hope it goes well.



My name is Joe and I have searched Google. and this forum for my answer but have not been able to find a definitive answer to my question.  I have seen many replies talking about getting a tone generator or a line tracer but my experience is that tone generators are for Data and phone cables rather than electrical cables and the line tracers I've found online all seem to be about tracing the line back to the breaker panel so without knowing more I'm hesitant to purchase a line tracer in case it cannot do what I want.

My dilemma is very likely very simple to anyone with electrical experience so I hope it's not too trivial for this crowd.

I have recently purchased a house that is over 120 years old and have a motion sensor light on the porch that is supposedly connected to a switch inside but does not turn on.  I've opened the wall plate and used a voltage indicating pen to see where the electricity is.  In this case there are two light switches, one that has lines that have been spliced and another that supposedly leads to the porch light according to a long time tenant in that unit.  It all looks like a bit of a mess and the connections don't make sense.  In this scenario the black cables have the electricity and the white cables complete the circuit.  The switch to the porch light has a black cable coming from the top of the box going to the switch and a white cable connected to the other screw that comes from splitting the white cable from the other switch.  What I would like to do is know which cables in that wall box correspond to the cables to the porch light.  Can anyone give me an idea what I should do?

Do I need something like the Amprobe advanced wire tracer (http://www.professionalequipment.com...0/wire-tracer/) and can it do what I need, or is there something simpler I can do?

All help is appreciated.

Thanks



Joe
      

I am only using a simple "non-contact" voltage detector. I am getting a reading from the switch, along part of the line and then at the lights themselves, but the lights are not coming on. I have not gotten into the attic yet to check the line and junction box. What could cause this? An open connection or loose connection? Any help with troubleshooting would be great.



This is a new install of lights, they were not existing. Power is at the switch. Had single pole now I have a double switch. (the existing light that was on the single pole is still working fine). At one  point I connected just the new lights to the existing power, single pole switch, and still did not have lights.
      

I only have one outlet in my living room and I need another one for sure. What are some ways I can do this?  There is not another outlet on the other side of the wall, we had a electrician come add a light with switch and he said something about closing off a line behind the switch box.  Is it possible to re-open that line? We also have a attic which I was told at homedepot is easy to do if you have another outlet in the next room you don't use. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
      

Hello again Gurus,



Will a double pole 15A 277v light switch work as a shut off for my air handler? I had to run all the electrical prior to them installing the central air and I wired a double pole switch from my 15A double pole breaker. I ran to the line/load ie black/white to the bottom posts on the switch. Thinking they can just run black/white from the air handler to the top. When the switch is UP> Live power to air handler. If it it's down (OFF), it means they can service the unit. Is my thinking correct on this? I couldn't find any other switches.



Thank You



~S
      

I'm installing a new light in a closet with an in-line switch. Because of the build of my house, a mid-run receptacle is the only power source available without ripping open a bunch of wall and ceiling. I've got everything installed and tied into the receptacle with appropriate pig tails, but whenever I turn the power back on, the breaker for that circuit instantly flips. I've double-checked all the connections and wires, and they are connected to the appropriate terminals. Tied the pig tails into the terminals on the top socket of the receptacle.



Could this be the result of a faulty switch? The breaker trips whether the switch is in the off or on position, and there are no bulbs in the light fixture. I'm stumped. The receptacle in question is rarely used, and I've powered off everything else in the room to be on the safe side, but the breaker trips.
      

I am replacing a feed through breaker panel the bus bar and breaker was inverted but the main breaker is up and down with on being down and I also noticed that the plastic in the back that holds the bus bar is cracked.



I bought a newer model from the same manufacture that has a much better design and a better main breaker.  But unlike the one I already have when you invert it the breaker slots don't line up and cover does not fit properly.



I was thinking about just cutting out the center where the breaker slots are.  I measured and if I cut it just right all I have to do is turn it over and it will line up just have to bolt or weld it in place.  Would this be legal



I also thought about putting the panel the way it came and feeding the bus bar hot and keeping the panel under the 6 throw rule.  Or would that not work because I am using feed through.  There will be 4 double pole breakers and the one main that feeds a sub panel.





I really hate the cheap design of this panel.







I plan to replace it with this.




      

Summary of what I'm doing:



Adding 2 outlets for above and below cabinet lighting.  Lights are line-level and plug into an outlet.  I want to install a single double-rocker switch to control each of these outlets.



All of the double rockers I can find are 15-amp.  The circuit I am planning to use for power is a 20a.  Am I sunk?  Will I need to install 2 single 20a switches?  I would only put 15a outlets in, obviously, but this doesn't seem like the right way.  Are there 20a switches that I just can't seem to find?



This is what I'm looking for:





One other thing, the circuit I am using for this is GFCI protected.  Should the lighting part of this circuit go to the load (to be GFCI protected) or is it advisable to put the lights before the GFCI?
      

Scratching my head on this. New pole building. For now, I want to use one circuit for the lights. What I'm trying to do, is, at one door, I have a 3 way, switching two flourescent lights. Also in that 4-gang light switch, is run a light over the door on the outside, and a light over the overhead service door, and another light over the door, on the inside. So 1 3way, and three single pole switches. At the back door, the other 3 way for the same two lights, and a light over the door on the outside, and another light over the door on the inside. I have the power from the m/p, going into the light box nearest the M/P. Long story short, instead of how I have it, which operates all the lights, as long as one of the three ways are on. If someone could help me with how it should be. I am using 12-3 from the switches. Using 12-2 from the first light box, to the second. I have a another 12-2 running into each switch box, to supply power for the single pole switches.

Thanks for any/all input.
      

hello

I am dealing with what seems like a strange issue with a single pole switch, and I am royally baffled even after reaching out to someone a little more knowledgeable than me.



Yesterday: Replaced with a single pole switch with an identical one that I painted (for decor reasons). Two wires were going into the old, and the same 2 wires are attached to the new one. However, the light it controls fails to come on despite light bulb being good, and outlet located 4 feet below the switch fails to operate. With voltmeter in hand I tested voltages.

At the switch: 3 wires feed into it, all whites capped together, and 2 of the 3 blacks (A,B,C) are hot with 110. A is hot and was/is connected to one of the terminals of the single pole switch. B and C (hot) are capped together with a jumper that goes to the other terminal of the single pole switch. So I am royally baffled as to why a switch would be wired with 2 hot wires going into it. I swear it has been like that since we bought the house a year ago, and the light worked fine. I simply replaced the switch with the same wiring, and now it doesnt work. I even touched both hots (A and C) independently to wire B which (using common sense) should be the load wire to the lamp, but the lamp did not come one.



Other outlets in that circuit do not work either. They get 110 to line and ground, but not across the outlet.



I hope I was clear in explaining, and I hope someone can possibly shed some light so I can resolve this.



Thank you