3-way Switch Trouble

Hi, I recently moved into a 1954 house with a  20amp electrical system, not the old fuse type, but there are no ground wires.



I removed an old light and replaced it with a light fan combo. As I removed the old light (after turning off the breaker) I noticed from the ceiling that there were 2 white wires tied together with a wire nut and 2 black wires, one attached to the white wire in the light and the other attached to the black one from the light. Feeling this was wrong and should be black to black, white to white, (even knowing full well the light was working fine before I disconnected it) I wired the fan the way I've always wired fan lights,  white to white, blue and black to black.  (again, knowing full well the light was working the other way). Turned breaker on then powered on switch. POP at the switch, breaker switched off. I reworked it back to the way it was before with whites tied off, black to white, black and blue to black, turned it back on and  viola, things worked fine. (I know, duh... Right???)

2 questions from this experience...

1. Why would the 2 whites be tied off with only black wires used?

And 2. It seems that one of the light switches in the same circuit as the blown one is now working soft. In other words, it used to make the normal click noise when turned on/off but now it just moves softly up and down without the click. Could I have damaged something when I mis-wired?
      

I have an outdoor light fixture that I am trying to replace.  The house was built ten years ago.



When I removed the original lamp, I noticed one of the two leads was wired to the ground, and one was wired to the black wire, which is hot per my current sensor.  There are three wires in the box - black, ground (bare copper), and white or neutral, all from a single romex cable.  Unfortunately, I do not recall where the white was when I removed the original. 



I wired the new lamp per the instructions, something I have done many times before - black to black, white to white, and bare copper ground to ground.  Nothing.  The lamp and bulbs are brand new, and I have tried four separate bulbs.  I checked the black and neutral with my current sensor and with the switch on and the lamp installed this way, both show as hot. With the lamp not installed, the switch on, and the wires disconnected only the black shows as hot.  The switch is single pole, and appears to be wired correctly with a black to each screw on one side and a copper ground on the other.



Assuming the new fixture was bad, I reinstalled the old fixture correctly -  black to black, white to white, and bare copper ground to ground.  Still nothing. No light, and I confirmed the bulb is good by putting it in another lamp.   The only way to get it to light is to connect the neutral in the lamp to the bare copper ground.



I capped the wires, turned the circuit back on, and identified all the outlets, switches and fixtures on the same circuit.  I opened every one of them up (four lights and eight outlets) and found three (one switch and two fixtures in another room) where multiple commons connect.  All were properly connected.  My outlet tester shows all outlets as "correct".  I found no instances of grounds connected to commons or vice-versa.



Any ideas?  Is it proper to wire this thing the way I found it?



Thanks for any and all advice!
      

I was changing out old switches in an old apartment when I came across this enigma. Switches in the kitchen and hall both operate the hall light. The switch in the kitchen was a regular 3way switch job with a red, a black and a white wire. The switch in the hall had four wires, 2 black and 2 white. I replaced this with a 4way which my husband said was incorrect. In the mean time until we find the correct type of switch (which I'm open to suggestions) we put the old ones back on but must have messed something up because now the kitchen switch only works when the hall one is positioned "down".  I have multiple questions. What is the red wire hooked to? None of the wires in the 4-wire box read 110v so which one is the power coming in from? I'll stop here for now.  Thanks.
      

This should be simple but . . .



I am replacing a couple old 3 pole switches with 2 new decorator switches. First switch I rewired exactly like the old one black on black pole, a second black on brass pole on the same side, and red on the pole on the other side.



I rewired the second switch exactly like the old one was too.  White on black pole (I know ) red on the brass pole on the same side, and black on seperate pole on other side.



light will turn on and off from first switch but only off from second and will not turn on from first switch if second is turned off.



so I rewired second switch with balck on black pole, white on top brass pole, and red on seperate pole.  Nothing changed.



Do I need to test which wires are actually connecte to each other in the wall or what?



thanks for your electrical wisdom
      

Going through a crazy heat wave here in SoCal, and one of my tenants called to tell me that the electricity isn't on in some of his rooms. He turned on his portable AC unit that he has been using all summer and something may have happened.



Downstairs:The dining room light switch, downstairs light switch do not work. All outlets around them do work though, which is odd cause I would have thought they'd be on the same circuit.



Upstairs: The side bathroom light switch does not work, but outlets all work. In the master bedroom (where the AC unit is located), the master bathroom light switch does not work, nor does the master bedroom light switch. All of the outlets do not work either. I used my outlet tester and it gave me the hot/ground reversed lights. I think this means that the white/black wires are reversed on the outlets (has not changed recently).



I went over, checked all of the breakers. Switched them to off, then back on, did not fix the issue. All breakers stay in the on position without tripping, so no shorts?



Checked all GFCI's, hit test, then reset, did not solve the problem.



We unplugged everything from all outlets, and retried, but it didn't work.



I checked continuity between the main power lines, and the output of the circuit breakers, and all were fine. I did NOT check the voltages though, and will do so in the morning when I stop by again.



Is there anything else I should check?
      

Hello!



In a house I recently bought I have a strange situation.



There is a three way switch on one side of the wall with two sets of wires coming in:



Red, Black, White

Black, White



and then one stray Black that goes to the duplex receptacle on the other side of the wall (on the OUTSIDE of the wall!  Clearly an afterthought.)



Into the receptacle goes this strange black single wire from the light switch and the usual black and white wires + ground wire.



I went to change the ugly receptacle to a decora and now it doesn't work, though I'm not 100% sure it worked before.



I've wired the new receptacle as I remember it being wired before, any idea what is wrong? 



I've attached a diagram!



Thanks in advance for any input.
      

I have a 5 hp, guess it's a 80 gallon, 220 volt Ingersoll Rand compressor and had problems with the motor not wanting to start. I found a replacement box that included the Siemens starter and a new reset. The only thing this new box doesn't have is the two 5 amp fuses and didn't figure I needed to use them so I didn't add them to the new box.(?) After wiring the unit I have found the only way the compressor will kick on is if I hold down the Siemens starter re-set.



I know I have the motor wired properly and the wires from the pressure switch expect the white one. It originally went to one of the two fuses and than to where I currently is.(?)



The black motor wire was connected to the bottom of the reset (lower left), which is out of view in the pic

The white motor wire was connected to the bottom right of the Siemens starter

The motor ground was connected to the ground terminal on the box.



The pressure switch black wire was connected to the top right of the starter.

The pressure switch with wire was connected to the top left of the starter.

The ground was connected to the ground terminal on the box.



The incoming black hot wire was connected to the top left of of the starter.

The incoming white hot wire was connected to the top right of the starter.

The ground was connected to the ground terminal on the box.



Any idea what's wrong and have I included enough information?



Thanks, Shawn
      

Hello -



I'm attempting to install a new bathroom vent fan / light combo.  I pulled out the old one from the ceiling and am ready to install the new one.  I'm not sure how to wire up the new one.



The wire coming from the 2 Switches/Wall has the following 4 wires:  Black, White, Red, Bare Copper Ground



The wires coming from the Light/Fan Unit a

Light:  Black, White, Red

Fan:  Black, White

Fan/Light Housing:  Green Ground Wire



Any help would be appreciated.



Thanks!
      

Greetings!

I'm hoping for some help, I bought a house recently where the laundry room light switch does not work. I found this in the ceiling box:



Two black wires capped off

One white wire capped off

Three white wires going to the fixture

Two black wires going to the fixture



I replaces the switch to rule that out and it still doesn't work.



There is one black and one white wire going to the switch.



Any ideas on how to wire it properly?



Thanks!
      

Hello,



I am replacing a bath light and I am a bit confused by the wiring. I can reattach the wires with the new fixture exactly like the old fixuture was attached but the old fixture did not have a ground connection.



Here is how the wires a



Two whites connected to each other but not to the fixture.

One white and one bare copper wire (I thought it was the ground) connected together and to the white wire of the ligh fixture

one black wire connected to the black wire of the light fixture



How to I connect the the fixture green wire in this configuration?



Thanks