Check For Voltage

Status
Not open for further replies.

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
got a call years ago in an older home, light works fine til the furnace kicks on, (it was about the same setup only with out the receptacle) turned out that the keyless was being used for the screw in fuse holder

How well did the furnace work? Especially when the light was "turned off":)
 

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
Apparently that means begging for a comment. All I have is it looks like the neutral is likely switched conductor for that luminaire. The probe for your meter likely pushed in far enough to contact an ungrounded receptacle terminal as well as the bare grounding conductor.

Nope, not begging for comment, people like pictures!:p
Since the pic post was at the end of the thread I just thought people might not have bothered to look since everything had been covered.

The neutral wasn't connected to that light at all. It didn't have a bulb in it when I got there. Don't know what happened with the sparks, but the fixture was useless the way it was wired. I took it all down anyway along with the conductors that fed to/from it and were just hanging out of two holes in the ceiling.

This was a repossessed house that a realtor wanted me to "straighten up". They left me plenty to "straighten up"!
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Nope, not begging for comment, people like pictures!:p
Since the pic post was at the end of the thread I just thought people might not have bothered to look since everything had been covered.

The neutral wasn't connected to that light at all. It didn't have a bulb in it when I got there. Don't know what happened with the sparks, but the fixture was useless the way it was wired. I took it all down anyway along with the conductors that fed to/from it and were just hanging out of two holes in the ceiling.

This was a repossessed house that a realtor wanted me to "straighten up". They left me plenty to "straighten up"!

Only thing we can tell from the picture that is a NEC violation is that the neutral is likely the switched leg to that luminaire. The black lead to the luminaire terminal on the left is the return from the switch, other side of switch has to be the neutral. If that is wrong we need more pictures to know that.
 

Little Bill

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee NEC:2017
Occupation
Semi-Retired Electrician
Only thing we can tell from the picture that is a NEC violation is that the neutral is likely the switched leg to that luminaire. The black lead to the luminaire terminal on the left is the return from the switch, other side of switch has to be the neutral. If that is wrong we need more pictures to know that.

I don't know if there was a switch or not, as I said, the wires, other than the feed, were just hanging out of the ceiling on each side of the fixture. The fixture has a pull chain switch already in it. It only makes/breaks the center contact in the fixture. I can't see how my meter probes would go in far enough to short something but something shorted when I checked for voltage. I have more pics. but I don't see how they would help as they only show wires hanging out of the ceiling about 2'.

Side Note: How do you get the attic insulation monster to give your tic tester back. He ate mine!:happysad:
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
I don't know if there was a switch or not, as I said, the wires, other than the feed, were just hanging out of the ceiling on each side of the fixture. The fixture has a pull chain switch already in it. It only makes/breaks the center contact in the fixture. I can't see how my meter probes would go in far enough to short something but something shorted when I checked for voltage. I have more pics. but I don't see how they would help as they only show wires hanging out of the ceiling about 2'.

Side Note: How do you get the attic insulation monster to give your tic tester back. He ate mine!:happysad:

Look at the bare grounding conductors right behind the receptacle - if your meter probe is long enough and you insert probe into ungrounded slot of receptacle and tip of probe pushes all the way to one of those grounding conductors .. I can easily see that happening. Sure looks to me like you have a hot, neutral and a switch return all whites are connected together and all but one black is connected together as well as to one side of lamp - the remaining black which is connected to other side of lamp about has to be a switch return with the other side of switch connected to neutral.
 

Gac66610

Senior Member
Location
Kansas
How well did the furnace work? Especially when the light was "turned off":)

wasn't a switch in sight:happyno:
guess the light was an "Eternal light" :angel:
worked great til a HVAC service tech went to check the furnace, tried running through its cycles and the light went out so he couldn't see to work on it
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
wasn't a switch in sight:happyno:
guess the light was an "Eternal light" :angel:
worked great til a HVAC service tech went to check the furnace, tried running through its cycles and the light went out so he couldn't see to work on it

Did the HVAC guy by chance see the lampholder and thought - if I put a bulb in there I won't need to get my trouble light and that is when problems started?

Doesn't make the install right - but it probably worked just fine until somebody decided the bulb was a smart idea.
 

Gac66610

Senior Member
Location
Kansas
Did the HVAC guy by chance see the lampholder and thought - if I put a bulb in there I won't need to get my trouble light and that is when problems started?

Doesn't make the install right - but it probably worked just fine until somebody decided the bulb was a smart idea.

you are probably right, let me borrow H.G. Wells time machine and I'll go back about 15 - 20 years and find out ;)

we ran into this back when i was still learning this trade, the only reason i rem it ... it just seemed odd
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top