Can't Believe what I Found

John B. · Feb 24, 2016

I added some outlets in my shed since I got lots of free wire. When I took the front panel off my breaker box I noticed my
light circuit had the wire coming off the breaker and went straight to the ceiling to the 6 lights then the return wire came
back and went thru the light switch. So my light fixtures were energized or hot all the time. I didn't wire them and wonder
why anyone would wire a circuit like that. The circuit is hot/energized all the time. You could possibly be shocked just by
changing a light bulb especially if the old bulb broke off in the socket and with the switch turned off. That's dangerous as
you know what! I corrected it and ran the wire from the breaker to the switch first which is only 2ft from the breaker box. I
feel better about it now.

paul · Feb 24, 2016

Its fairly easy to make wiring work, it takes a little thought to make it work right and safely.

Good job.

Paul

kabat · Feb 24, 2016

Many houses and sheds are wired that way. My dad wired partof the house he built usibg a book, and thats the way it was done. Safety was not really an issue as long as the circuit broke. Things have really changed over 60 or so years

Gambles · Feb 24, 2016

When it comes to wiring, never assume that it is done correctly.
I recently helped in a hunting lodge renovation. In this building, all circuits went through the main breaker box except for the entire AC unit. That was on a separate breaker that was in an entirely different building.
So if the place would have had a fire and the firemen turned the main breaker off, the AC unit would have still been hot. Something to think about...

Donald Lehman · Feb 24, 2016

After my son bought my fathers house he discovered all of the lights upstairs were fed off the main line before it got to the fuse box. Apparently it worked out okay. The house was wired a couple of decades before I was born and it's still standing and no one got electrocuted changing light bulbs. But Yikes!!!!

That situation was remedied rather quickly. also.

js305 · Feb 24, 2016

Back in the 80's I decided to add ceiling fans in both my mother in law's house and also in her mother's house. They both were widowed and living by themselves. The older lady still had only one phone on a shelf in the hall.

I bought four fans, two for each house. All four locations were wired much the same, with the external part of the light fixtures I was replacing being the "hot" side. Now, if you think about it, in each case I was on a ladder and the only way to tell was to have a meter with me. Not being grounded meant the way to get zapped was to handle both wires at the same time, with the switch on. I didn't really change anything, except for reversing the wiring for the fans. All that was in the fixtures was two wires coming in. There were no grounds in the ceilings of those old houses either. As you say, I wondered about changing a light bulb if it didn't go as planned.

After thinking about it I guess they were wiring it thinking about positive grounds on old Fords..............

Ron-MO · Feb 24, 2016

I used to work in the electrical and electronics field, and I learned long ago to always assume a wire or circuit is hot until you prove otherwise. With that said, I have been known to test by momentarily touching the circuit. Best method of course is test light or meter.

Russ from MN · Feb 24, 2016

A good reason not to use an aluminum stepladder! I try to only use fiberglass when doing electrical work, but I do still have a couple of aluminum ladders. I have a little tester that I call a proximity tester, looks like a felt pen, very useful!

farmerwithmutt · Feb 24, 2016

If I remember right I had an uncle that liked to do it that way. By being hot you could add an 110 outlet on the end of the lights that way the lights could be off and the outlet would be hot

Ted in NE-OH · Feb 24, 2016

I worked on a building built in 1937. For the three way switches they switched both the hot and the neutral . If you replaces a 3 way switch wrong it would blow fuses.

Determined · Feb 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 08:47:23 02/24/16) I used to work in the electrical and electronics field, and I learned long ago to always assume a wire or circuit is hot until you prove otherwise. With that said, I have been known to test by momentarily touching the circuit. Best method of course is test light or meter.

I spent several years in the electric motor rewind trade.
I was taught the opposite;
Never trust a test light or meter.
Most definitely use a light or meter to get you to the point of believing the circuit is dead but never touch anything bare until you take an insulated screwdriver and cross all the possible combinations, line to line, line to neutral, line to ground etc.
Far better to wreck a screwdriver than to find out the hard and painful way that a test lead or bulb has failed.

Do a google search for multimeter recall and you will be amazed at how many meters and voltage testers have been recalled due to inaccurate or non existent readings under certain conditions.
Not just cheap meters, many top name brands as well.

jim castleman · Feb 24, 2016

A lot of old houses were wired using both hot and neutral on three way switches.

casenut1 · Feb 24, 2016

The problem is that back at that time wiring was only two wires, a black and a white. They had no idea what a ground wire was. Most old barns have nothing but two wire romax in them.

K Effective · Feb 24, 2016

Never trust a test light or meter.

Actually, the safest thing is Live/Dead/Live testing. Test a known live circuit to prove your meter or light works, then test the circuit in question, then restest your meter/light on a known live circuit. Proves the tester works before your test, and also proves it did not fail in the before/during/after time period.

Time consuming, yes. Life-saving, yes.

dr sportster · Feb 24, 2016

What year is the house ? That is usually in an older home.

Hoenes · Feb 24, 2016

Russ, I have one of those voltage testers. "Kline" brand. I bought it when working on my son's house, to find the "hot" side on knob and tube wiring. Both wires look identical, same color, same sheath. Blinking red light when rubbed along side hot wire.

old-9 · Feb 24, 2016

The way I was taught was to check the wire for current, if dead then check meter on a known hot in order to make sure meter still worked. I always do it this way even with 6 or 12 volt.

Determined · Feb 24, 2016

(quoted from post at 09:55:20 02/24/16)

Never trust a test light or meter.

Click to expand...

Actually, the safest thing is Live/Dead/Live testing. Test a known live circuit to prove your meter or light works, then test the circuit in question, then restest your meter/light on a known live circuit. Proves the tester works before your test, and also proves it did not fail in the before/during/after time period.

Time consuming, yes. Life-saving, yes.

To each there own I guess but for the number of times I have had to scratch a corroded contact with a meter lead 4 or 5 times to get an accurate reading I will just as soon stick with what has kept my fingers intact all these years.

After the live /dead/live method you use, no harm to giving it a final test before getting your fingers in there.
Helped out the brother in law with his garage, just changing out a few plug receptacles.
Main breaker was off and box tested dead, the next plug 3 feet away was fed from a separate service from the house that had been left in place after an addition and full panel had been put on the garage. [Wrong in more ways than you could count but these situations do exist]
A quick routine touch with a screwdriver tripped the breaker.
Still have the welded screwdriver in my box 25 years later.

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 24, 2016

I don't see how that could work in a 2 wire circuit with no ground.

notjustair · Feb 24, 2016

I think every circuit I have dealt with in my 100 year old house is an end run switch. They aren't my cup of tea, but there's bigger fish to fry.

Geo-TH,In · Feb 24, 2016

John B,
I got knocked on by butt because guy only switched the neutral side, not the power side. The house was built in 1939. Not sure if back then the thinking was switches would last longer if switching the neutral. Or back then there were no standards. Who knows? It taught me a lesson, when working with electricity, don't trust anything, even your meters. Before touching the wires I use a screwdriver and short power to ground and power to neutral. Lost a few screwdrivers that way. Better than getting shocked.

John B. · Feb 24, 2016

It would work with a 3 wire circuit though.

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 24, 2016

Well yeah, but its a normal wiring practice with 3 wire. (as long as the third isn't the ground)

Can't Believe what I Found

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