1950's Wiring method

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wirebender

wirebender

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North Central Texas
While doing some work on friends house to get it ready for sale I came upon a light fixture which was connected to a black wire and red wire. I checked at the switch and the red was the switch leg. I pulled the wires out of the box and unwrapped them and this is what I found.

WeirdWire1.jpg


How did one of those white wires become a black wire? The black insulation is just like it was made on the wire. Did they have something they slipped over the bare wire after soldering? this was done back in the fifties.

Merry Xmas everyone.
 
wirebender said:
While doing some work on friends house to get it ready for sale I came upon a light fixture which was connected to a black wire and red wire.
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If you do work on old houses don't be surprised at anything you find. Just wait until you find a ceiling fan connected with an old extension cord or a light fixture connected with speaker wire, neutrals get swithed all the time.

There was some really good work done in the 1950's but there was some done by people that didn't have a clue. I would guess that they just soldered a black wire to the white wire ( polarity wasn't a major concern in those days to a lot of people or keeping the wire colors straight). The house probably didn't get an electical inspection so if it worked it was good enough. :smile:
 
I believe that type of splice was called a western union splice.
I don't think it was intended for use in conduits.
 
growler said:
There was some really good work done in the 1950's but there was some done by people that didn't have a clue.
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I used to think that incompetent work was a more recent phenomenon, but I guess nothing really has changed after all. :wink:
 
If you will look closely you will see that there are two white wires on the one end, twisted together and soldered. The wire with the black insulation is the same wire as one of the ones with white insulation. There is nothing wrong with the installation, it was the grounded conductor. I was just wondering how they got the black insulation on the wire.
 
Maybe the original insulation got brittle and fell off, and someone took a skin off a #12 and slid it on. If it was thermoplastic, the heat from the fixture could've shrunk it tight to the #14, assuming it is #14.

Wait till you find an old house with conduit in the brick walls containing only one insulated hot and a bare neutral.
 
lordofpi said:
I used to think that incompetent work was a more recent phenomenon, but I guess nothing really has changed after all. :wink:
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Actually if you look in your American Electricians Handbook, you will find detailed instructions on how to make a Western Union splice.
I seem to recall seeing it used quite often with K&T in old New England homes.
The splice was soldered sometimes after it was completed.
 
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