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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6b0kwo wrote

Reply to comment by Sevulturus in I have a question on wiring for a ceiling light. by Cappuccino_Crunch

Though with the light switch off I still get a live wire warning with my non contact tool at the light which I thought was weird.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6b2e2t wrote

Are you testing it with the light still up, or with it down and the two wires completely separated?

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6b2xmc wrote

Light is hanging down and connected. I initially tested it before I hung it

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XFactor-41 t1_j6b33od wrote

Disconnect it, make sure the black and white wires aren’t even twisted, and separate them opposite each other in the box and retest.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6b6eke wrote

Here it is in detail and separated. https://imgur.com/a/kNP90sA

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XFactor-41 t1_j6b701u wrote

At the switch, do you have one black that is showing voltage and one that is not, and are the neutrals showing correctly?

Then at the light, with the switch off, are both showing 0?

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6b7jlc wrote

At the light the neutral shows 120 with the switch off which I'm pretty sure isn't supposed to happen. I haven't checked the connected neutral wires at the box since it's capped off.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6b7sih wrote

That absolutely should not be happening. Separate and test both neutrals at the switch box.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6barge wrote

Ok separated the neutrals at the box. In the off position the line black wire reads 120, the load (to the light) reads zero and the line neutral reads 120 and the load neutral reads zero. So at this point everything is zero at the lamp.

With the switch in the on position, all black wires read 120. The line (from the source) neutral reads 120 and the load neutral reads zero. So at the lamp with the switch on the neutral is zero and the hot is 120.

This is with the lamp removed and the neutral wires untwisted but the grounds and hot at the switch hooked up.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6baz1n wrote

The issue is the neutral at the switch showing voltage. That shouldn’t be happening. What else is on that circuit?

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6bc5o8 wrote

So I pulled out our map for the electric that we made. https://imgur.com/a/51ir7wO. I'm working on 28. I'm guessing that open neutral is what the plug tester read when we went around testing the outlets. I have a bad feeling lol.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6bcags wrote

Work your way backwards through that circuit to find where the issue with the neutral is.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6bd5ot wrote

Is that what's causing my issue? And work back towards the main from the point where it says open neutral?

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XFactor-41 t1_j6bd9em wrote

Yes. Somewhere upstream, the neutral is crossed and is picking up voltage.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6bdn02 wrote

Thanks man you've been super helpful. My question is why doesn't the rest of the outlets show that open neutral on the circuit downstream? Is it because I separated the two circuits at the switch?

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XFactor-41 t1_j6bdr8e wrote

That I’m not sure. Something like that is hard to diagnose without being there and seeing it.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6beil9 wrote

Alright cool. I'll open that outlet tomorrow tomorrow and the ones upstream to figure out how to fix the neutral.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6emggh wrote

https://imgur.com/a/noFRFFW

Now I'm at a loss. Gonna call in a pro now.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6en1vv wrote

Actually, I think I see the problem. Disclaimer: I’m not an electrician, just a somewhat experienced amateur, but for the life of me, I don’t see why that neutral is bundled and capped with those hot wires. That’s likely where your neutral picking up that voltage is coming from.

I will gladly step aside and admit defeat if a professional wants to contradict this answer.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6eppzy wrote

Ok. So what should I do with that neutral? There's three bundles in there. Two go to a light switch/fan plate that operate on two different breakers.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6esfs8 wrote

Ok, disregard my previous comment. How many b/w pairs are in that box? There should be 4: two on the hot side of each circuit and two that lead downstream.

Disconnect and separate everything. Then organize the wires by pair. Then, test to see which is the hot coming in from each circuit. Then you’ll have to do a little trial and error to see which of the downstream pairs goes to the light vs the switch.

Confirm this and let me know.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6ev8v6 wrote

I only have three pairs. This seems like a good stopping point for me actually lol. Running a switch to a light seems pretty easy. I appreciate the help though.

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XFactor-41 t1_j6ew5xa wrote

Is that a split outlet? In other words, does the switch control one half of it and the other half is on the other circuit? If so, I have your solution.

The circuit that the switch is on was designed to terminate at that spot. With the power and the switch on, find the hot wire for that circuit. Then, connect that pair to either the top or bottom of the outlet.

With the remaining two pairs, you’re going to have to make two pigtails. Take a spare piece of black/white wire accordingly and cut off about 9-10”. Strip the ends and with a wire nut, bundle the two black wires in the box together with one pigtail, and do the same with the white. Connect the other side of the pigtails to the open half of the outlet accordingly.

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6evkmu wrote

I'll just call an electrician tomorrow to figure out this neutral issue. Is that what's causing the light fixture to not work? If so I'll do the hook up myself since that part is pretty easy

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Cappuccino_Crunch OP t1_j6b7ml0 wrote

With the switch on both blacks show voltage. The the switch off, only the one shows 120 as the other shows 0.

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