[xrum]

Hello

I am trying to change my ceiling fan into a regular lighting fixture (no fan) and i can't figure out the wiring.

i have 3 black wires, and 3 black. and 1 black and 1 white coming from the new fixture.

i tired to replicate old wiring but it's not working.

sometimes it turns on, but does not react to the light switch

please help
Thanks!
-Tanya

 

[220/221]

i have 3 black wires, and 3 black

So.....you have six black wires huh?

You should have looked closer when you took th ewiring apart.

You probably have 3 blacks and 3 whites and you will need to do some voltage/continuity testing to get it to work. If the are all black, you are in too deep for an internet repair.

 

[xrum]

oh man, sorry, i have 3 back and 3 white. i mistyped

 

[jp12345]

well this is what you do. those three black and three white are on the same circuit (maybe) . You probably disconnected all of them from the wire nut...so get ur self a tester, and turn on and off breakers, till you have no voltage in one black, then check the other 2 ....remember, if you split your whites, you can burn somethin up...let me know how that goes and good luck...(make sure that each black comming into the box are going out into the conduits seperate ways) if they come in from the same pipe then its diff circuits....

 

[kbsparky]

Is the light on while the switch is "off" ?

Does the breaker trip when you turn the wall switch "on" ?

 

[xrum]

yup, the light is on, even the is switch is off.

here is a little diagram i tried to make: let me know if it makes sense...

the gray are white wires....

i tried all different combinations, and it seems the hot cable is the black coming from the left, and i believe the switch is the bottom right.... but i could be wrong


where do i get the "tester" and is it expensive?

 

[joed]

Connect the power black to the switch white and the other black.
Connect the power white to the other white and the fixture white.
Connect the switch black to the fixture black.
Connect all the grounds together.

 

[xrum]

i will try it as soon as i get home tonight, thanks!

i thought i could not mix black and white together, is that wrong?

 

[jbfan]

i will try it as soon as i get home tonight, thanks!

i thought i could not mix black and white together, is that wrong?

Not in this case.
You have a switch leg only.
Wire it like joed said.

 

[joed]

i thought i could not mix black and white together, is that wrong?

It is a common mistake. People think that when they see a black and white connected together they need to FIX it even when it was working just fine before they worked on it.
In this case you have white being used to bring power to the switch and black being used to bring switched power from the switch to the fixture.

 

[220/221]

i thought i could not mix black and white together, is that wrong?

Heh heh....thats why we call it a suicide switch

You MAY be able to tell from the length of the wire. One white may be cut to the length of the blacks.

You have power in, power out and a switch loop. You need to identify the switch loop....the cable going to the switch.

The easiest way is with a continuity tester. You will read continuity thru the black and white while the sw is on, no continuity when it's off.

Once you identify the sw loop, tie the sw loop white to the power in/out blacks.

Tie the power in/out whites together with a pigtail for the fixture.

The sw loop black goes to the fixture black.

 

[xrum]

thanks guys,

if i survive i will report back tonight

-Tanya

 

[Yoyizit]

Being all on the same page. . .

"Grounded [means] a conductor with continuity to earth, whether intentional or not. [1]

Leg as in 'hot leg' refers to one of multiple hot conductors in an electrical system. One such leg will have a higher potential to another hot leg than to ground or neutral, typically 208 V or 240 V, depending on the electrical service for the system. The most common service in the U.S., single-phase, 240 V, features a neutral and two hot legs, 240 V to each other, and 120 V each to the neutral.[citation needed]

Switch-leg is a wiring configuration in which the full-potential circuit is available at the fixture location, while one half of the circuit (hot in new installations, but often neutral in older knob-and-tube systems) is routed from the fixture location, through a switch, and back and into the fixture itself.[citation needed]"

"As used herein, the term “fixture” or “electrical fixture” means any fixture or appliance such as a lighting fixture, ceiling fan. . .or any other device which is powered by electricity supplied by electrical wiring, and which requires a mechanical connection to support or suspend the fixture. "

 

[220/221]

Way to confuse the poor chick :laughing:


I think his reply was meant for another topic.

 

[xrum]

"Grounded [means] a conductor with continuity to earth, whether intentional or not. [1]

Leg as in 'hot leg' refers to one of multiple hot conductors in an electrical system. One such leg will have a higher potential to another hot leg than to ground or neutral, typically 208 V or 240 V, depending on the electrical service for the system. The most common service in the U.S., single-phase, 240 V, features a neutral and two hot legs, 240 V to each other, and 120 V each to the neutral.[citation needed]

Switch-leg is a wiring configuration in which the full-potential circuit is available at the fixture location, while one half of the circuit (hot in new installations, but often neutral in older knob-and-tube systems) is routed from the fixture location, through a switch, and back and into the fixture itself.[citation needed]"

"As used herein, the term “fixture” or “electrical fixture” means any fixture or appliance such as a lighting fixture, ceiling fan. . .or any other device which is powered by electricity supplied by electrical wiring, and which requires a mechanical connection to support or suspend the fixture. "

if you already have one "hot leg" why would you want to "switch it", i'd rather just get another one


LOL. j/k

thanks for the vocabulary lesson anyway

 

[Yoyizit]

i'd rather just get another one

I can't stand this much excitement! :tongue_smilie:

 

[jbfan]

if you already have one "hot leg" why would you want to "switch it", i'd rather just get another one


LOL. j/k

thanks for the vocabulary lesson anyway

Just ignore him! Thats what most of us do anyway!:jester:

 

[Yoyizit]

Just ignore him! Thats what most of us do anyway!:jester:

That's probably because I don't have hot legs.

 

[xrum]

im alive, and everything worked like a charm

Thanks!