Light won't turn off.

[markp]

OK. This all started when I went to replace a lighting fixture in the bathroom. It worked fine but it was ugly, so I bought a new fixture, hit the breaker, and pulled the old one off the wall. Because I'd done really basic upgrades before, I didn't pay much attention to how the old one was wired, but once I got it off the wall, I realized that I had TWO cables (each containing a white, black and raw wire) coming in to either side of the junction box. That means TWO white wires, TWO black ones, TWO raw (uncoated, whatever) ones.

Needless to say, after trying loads of different combinations, I have no idea how to get either the old light or the new light to work again. If I connect fixture white white (left side) and fixture black (left side), I can get the light to come back on, however the light switch won't turn it off. It should be noted that fixture white white (right side) and fixture black black (right side) does absolutely nothing. And yet the right side is closer to the light switch, so I'm assuming it has relevance here...

I've tried connecting all the whites and all the blacks to no avail. This light switch worked at one time - what am I doing wrong? Thanks,

MP.

[G. Morgan]

On 20 Dec 2004 18:56:54 -0800 "markp" used 25 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair

Working on your own electrical appliances without a clue.

[markp]

Thanks for the help, Graham!

[Ignoramus27451]

Immediately turn off the circuit breaker and hire a professional.

i

[markp]

Thanks for the help, Ignoramus!

[Joseph Meehan]

You are wiring them wrong and you don't know why. I fear that you don't have the skill and knowledge to safely resolve the problem. You need to do a little investigation of the problem. An easy job for anyone who has the skills and knowledge to do the job safely.

Please do yourself, your family and your insurance company a favor and have the work done professionally. It will be a small charge and well worth it. If you keep trying things you are going to get hurt and if you make an error you could leave a potentially deadly trap for the next person to work on it and maybe a fire hazard for the near future.

[Reed]

Check the wires at the switch box. If there are only 1 Blk & 1 Wht in the box both wired to the switch, then do this:

Left Blk>----------->(splice)>----------->Right Blk>------>SwitchBlk

LeftWht

[Greg]

Turn the breaker off before handling any of the wires!

Try one cable's black and white to the light and see if it lights. Then try the other pair. If one lights it up and the other doesn't mark the one that does. Next, just as a sanity check, look at the switch and see if it has one white and one black. If so you probably have a hot pair and a switch loop that is your other pair (the one that didn't light up). If this is not all true. stop! If this is all true connect the "hot" black to the switch loop white. Connect the "hot" white to the light white and the switch loop black to the light black. If this works you are almost done. Take some black tape or a black marker and mark out that white that you have connected to the black so you can find it next time.

If any of this doesn't seem true get back to us.

[markp]

Thanks Reed - that works perfectly.

[Ignoramus27451]

Seriously, you are attempting to deal with relatively dangerous things without understanding. Buy a book such as "be a home electrician" and read it first, cover to cover, before starting repairs like that. With two black wires, you could possibly get yourself killed with 250V.

i

[markp]

Thanks Reed - that works perfectly.

[Bob K 207]

that's mean

[Bob K 207]

Mark, having struggled through this repair successfully (no deaths, no injuries, no damage) I suggest you reflect on the process, if you're interested in getting better at this type of stuff.

first, what mistake did you make from the get-go?

second, did you really understand Reed's explanation or just "luck into" the result?

considering the $'s you saved DIY, did you buy that electrical book?

"be a home electrician" and start reading it?

Do you understand the concept of a switch leg?

Becomming an accomplished DIY'r requires effort otherwise it's just one unknow situation after anoither.

cheers

[~~~~~~~~~]

GET OUT OF THAT HOUSE NOW. IT'S GONNA BURST INTO FLAMES WITHIN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS. LEAVE NOW.........

GO TO A NEIGHBOR AND CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND AN ELECTRICIAN

LEAVE NOW LEAVE NOW LEAVE NOW

WHY ARE YOU STILL SITTING THERE? GET THE FUCK OUT OF THAT HOUSE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[markp]

Fair points, Bob. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

[markp]

Fair points, Bob. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

[xrongor]

trying all wire combinations.. hmmm..

this seems somewhat like using a lighter to see if the gas can is full...

randy

[HaHaHa]

What you found in your fixture box when you removed the old light was a fixture white and a fixture black spliced on to only 2 of the wires in the wall box.

Inside that wall box there was another splice which had nothing to do with your fixture wires, and for some reason you felt the need to un-do that splice as well.

You are part of the 20% of DIYers and about 10% of so called professionals who suffer from clueless overconfidence and have no business working on whatever it is you're working on. [e-mail]

[Noozer]

Too late for you now... It's luck you haven't had a fire yet the way you're blindly hooking up wires.

If you didn't take note of what wires went where when you pulled the old fixture out, and you don't understand how a light switch works, hire a professional.

[Noozer]

Great... now you have a firetrap waitign to happen... Do you even have a clue as to what you did?

Just because it works doesn't mean that it's right or even safe.

You can heat a house with exhaust from your car, but is it safe to do so?