installing a light switch

[Yoga Face]

i am changing a light switch


there are two wires connected into one and another single wire


the light for the stove is activated by the two wires connected so I presume they are live

the other single wire must be ground

the switch has only two connection points


does it matter which wire goes which on the switch

the switch does not indicate ground or positive so I presume it does not matter

the switch works with either connection

 

[FAST]

i am changing a light switch


there are two wires connected into one and another single wire


the light for the stove is activated by the two wires connected so I presume they are live

the other single wire must be ground

the switch has only two connection points


does it matter which wire goes which on the switch

the switch does not indicate ground or positive so I presume it does not matter

the switch works with either connection

There is no polarity.

Its AC.

FAST

 

[buttercup]

Anybody who answers this question just on the basis of the information in your post is likely to be charged with your murder.

The fact that you think what you said is enough to elicit an answer, indicates that your only prudent course is to call in someone who does it for a living.

 

[good to go]

The one side is the feed ( live wire ) the other is the power wire that goes to the light which is fed by the switch. Go to main breaker box and switch off breakers till the light is off then change the switch out.

 

[Yoga Face]

The one side is the feed ( live wire ) the other is the power wire that goes to the light which is fed by the switch. Go to main breaker box and switch off breakers till the light is off then change the switch out.

is not the black wire the hot wire or feed wire the one that brings in the electricity

the other wire (white in this case) goes to the light

because the box is metal it acts as the ground so there is no ground wire

but my question is does it matter which wire
goes to which connection

the switch has no indication on it where each wire should go

 

[FAST]

AGAIN,...if you have the same 2 original wires that came from the old switch,...it makes NO difference,... there is NO polarity.

FAST

 

[Thunderballs]

Find a YouTube video on household electrical repairs.

 

[Yoga Face]

AGAIN,...if you have the same 2 original wires that came from the old switch,...it makes NO difference,... there is NO polarity.

FAST

thx

you are saying AC has no negative-positive wires

just DC has negative positive

is that not what polarity means

WTF does negative -positive mean in context of wires


negative- positive are charges carried in the atom

electrons are negative and protons are positive(neutrons have no charge)




how could a wire have polarity unless you mean one is ground and the other wire brings the electricity into the box

appreciate the education

 

[zigzaw joker]

The fact that you think what you said is enough to elicit an answer, indicates that your only prudent course is to call in someone who does it for a living.

^^^^^ what he said ^^^ ..

 

[Mr. Piggy]

i am changing a light switch


there are two wires connected into one and another single wire


the light for the stove is activated by the two wires connected so I presume they are live

the other single wire must be ground

the switch has only two connection points


does it matter which wire goes which on the switch

the switch does not indicate ground or positive so I presume it does not matter

the switch works with either connection

It is a simple solution. Before you unhook the wires from the old switch look to see which wire is on which side. It will still work if wires are reversed but there is a right way and a wrong way. And like the op said, turn off the breaker first or you will get zapped.

 

[Yoga Face]

It is a simple solution. Before you unhook the wires from the old switch look to see which wire is on which side. It will still work if wires are reversed but there is a right way and a wrong way. And like the op said, turn off the breaker first or you will get zapped.

I never took the wires off the old switch so I have no way of knowing unless there something I do not know

that there is no indication on the new switch as to what wire goes where so I assume it does not matter

I took a guess and everything seems fine

 

[FAST]

I never took the wires off the old switch so I have no way of knowing unless there something I do not know

that there is no indication on the new switch as to what wire goes where so I assume it does not matter

I took a guess and everything seems fine

The only difference would have been how you oriented the switch, down for off.

On a side note, I wounder how many electricians do their own plumbing ?

FAST

 

[james t kirk]

If the switch only has 2 lugs, it is a single pole switch. Single pole switches are the simplest to wire.

On a single pole switch it does not matter which wire goes to which lug.

In 120/240 a single pole switch works by simply by breaking the hot conductor. Hot goes to the switch on one lug and then hot comes out of the switch on the other lug. The neutral wire goes directly to the light and connects to the neutral lug on the light.


In your wire configuration what DOES matter is that the 2 wires that are connected together stay connected together.

By the way, in your original post you describe the lone wire as the ground wire. This is not a correct description on your part. In 120/240 volt residential wiring the ground wire is a bare copper conductor. This will be attached to a lug in the back of the metal box and then pushed to the back of the box.

 

[corrie fan]

Find a YouTube video on household electrical repairs.

You need to be careful following the advice in Youtube videos. I saw one where a supposedly licensed electrician showed how to install an outlet. He worked with the power live. When some one called him on it he said that's the way he was taught to do it. Another showed how to install an outlet for a stove. The guy said "There is no ground wire but I guess that's OK"

 

[Promo]

If the switch only has 2 lugs, it is a single pole switch. Single pole switches are the simplest to wire.

On a single pole switch it does not matter which wire goes to which lug.

In 120/240 a single pole switch works by simply by breaking the hot conductor. Hot goes to the switch on one lug and then hot comes out of the switch on the other lug. The neutral wire goes directly to the light and connects to the neutral lug on the light.


In your wire configuration what DOES matter is that the 2 wires that are connected together stay connected together.

By the way, in your original post you describe the lone wire as the ground wire. This is not a correct description on your part. In 120/240 volt residential wiring the ground wire is a bare copper conductor. This will be attached to a lug in the back of the metal box and then pushed to the back of the box.

FAST's response is misleading: although AC has no "polarity" when used in 120v 2-wire, AC wiring does had live wires (usually black, but not always, aka "hot"), neutral wires (usually white, but not always) (although it is almost always grounded at the panel in modern wiring, it's not called "ground" and that does not mean it's electrically at 0v), ground wires (bonding conductors)(un-insulated copper wire) and "other wires" which could be live, neutral or a switch return, depending on how they are configured. When dealing with 240v 3-wire (typical stove or dryer), the wires are 180 degrees out of phase (kind-of like polarity, but not the same thing).

As everyone said, turn the power off at the breaker. Is it copper of aluminum wiring? You can tell by the colour. If it's aluminum, make sure you have a switch certified for aluminum.

Is it a two way or 3 way switch? <-- this is important. As JTK said, does it have 2 screws or 3 screws? For 2-way, which based on your description is most likely, the rest of JTK's explanation is correct, except 1) it's not a "neutral" it's called the switch return. If it was a neutral, you would blow the breaker every time you closed the switch - neutral would be on the other side of the load which in this case is the light. You NEVER switch the neutral in household wiring. and 2) Single pole switches are not used in 240v household wiring, it's actually a dual - single pole switch (they have various trade names) <-- it's pretty rare to have a 240v switch in a typical house unless you have a 240V water heater or a 240v pool pump.

Although it's easy to replace a 2-way light switch and the risk is relatively low, there's allot more to replacing a wall plug or light receptacle. On these devices it really matters which screws you connect which wires to, don't ever assume the original installer did it right.

 

[james t kirk]

FAST's response is misleading: although AC has no "polarity" when used in 120v 2-wire, AC wiring does had live wires (usually black, but not always, aka "hot"), neutral wires (usually white, but not always) (although it is almost always grounded at the panel in modern wiring, it's not called "ground" and that does not mean it's electrically at 0v), ground wires (bonding conductors)(un-insulated copper wire) and "other wires" which could be live, neutral or a switch return, depending on how they are configured. When dealing with 240v 3-wire (typical stove or dryer), the wires are 180 degrees out of phase (kind-of like polarity, but not the same thing).

As everyone said, turn the power off at the breaker. Is it copper of aluminum wiring? You can tell by the colour. If it's aluminum, make sure you have a switch certified for aluminum.

Is it a two way or 3 way switch? <-- this is important. As JTK said, does it have 2 screws or 3 screws? For 2-way, which based on your description is most likely, the rest of JTK's explanation is correct, except 1) it's not a "neutral" it's called the switch return. If it was a neutral, you would blow the breaker every time you closed the switch - neutral would be on the other side of the load which in this case is the light. You NEVER switch the neutral in household wiring. and 2) Single pole switches are not used in 240v household wiring, it's actually a dual - single pole switch (they have various trade names) <-- it's pretty rare to have a 240v switch in a typical house unless you have a 240V water heater or a 240v pool pump.

Although it's easy to replace a 2-way light switch and the risk is relatively low, there's allot more to replacing a wall plug or light receptacle. On these devices it really matters which screws you connect which wires to, don't ever assume the original installer did it right.

I didn't say that the neutral was connected to the switch. You didn't read what I posted correctly. I said that the neutral is connected directly to the light. Which it will be.

I can tell from the OP's description that the electrician has branched off from the line side of the single pole switch to feed another device. That is why there are 2 conductors bonded together. On the load side, there is only one wire. That goes to the light. That is why I told him that it is imperative that he keep the 2 conductors that are bonded together bonded together after he has done his work. If he changes that, he will have a light circuit that cannot be opened as the line is now bonded to the load directly thus bypassing the switch, or, the second feed is now bonded to the load side of the switch and whatever that device that currently takes its feed from the line side of the switch will now be switched.

But I didn't want to post that because it's not 100 percent for certain, and it's needlessly wordy and complicated. Hence why I told him to just make sure that the doesn't change the bonding pattern.

 

[james t kirk]

. When dealing with 240v 3-wire (typical stove or dryer), the wires are 180 degrees out of phase (kind-of like polarity, but not the same thing)..

I'm curious by what you mean by this statement....."out of phase"

120 / 240 Residential wiring has only one phase.

 

[oldjones]

Anybody who answers this question just on the basis of the information in your post is likely to be charged with your murder.

The fact that you think what you said is enough to elicit an answer, indicates that your only prudent course is to call in someone who does it for a living.

Here's just one example [I punctuated for coherence] of how sketchily you thought through and posed your question, and how unlikely it is that you will follow detailed instructions: "I am changing a light switch, there are two wires connected into one and another single wire. The light for the stove …" Huh? Just where is this light and switch? How do these three wires relate to either of them? What does a stove have to do with this? Appliance wiring and house wiring have different standards, codes and conventions, but both use wire-colour as an important factor. You didn't even mention colour; did you even notice?

buttercup's dead-on, get a professional or you may be dead-on your floor. If you survive you owe bountiful thanks to that special Providence that protects the foolish. If you insist on continuing, go to your nearest public library and get a serious book (they all have lotsa pictures, and your estate can sue the publisher and author) on whichever wiring — appliance or house — you're meddling with.

Almost any book will serve you better than any number of well-intentioned pooners trying to sort out malformed questions and offering partial answers.

 

[MissCroft]

Please call an electrician.

 

[james t kirk]

Jesus, the guy just wants to change a switch by himself. Give him some credit for a) wanting to try, and b) not thinking he has to "call an electrician"

It's the easiest fucking job in the world. Just cut the power as stated above and replace the damn switch exactly as it is now.

Done.

No-one is going to kill themselves (when was the last time you read about some guy changing a switch by himself lighting himself up and dying?), and no-one is going to burn the house down. It's 120 volts, not 7,200. You'd have to try real hard to kill yourself with 120.

Get a book. Watch some youtube videos.

What's next, gotta change a light bulb, so call an electrician?

It amazes me how many people are unable or unwilling to do the slightest of slight home repair jobs themselves.