Brain Teaser

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Step 1 in the basement. Turn all switches on.
Step 2.Tie feed of switch 1 to ground.
Step 3, tie return of switch 1 to feed of switch 2
step 3, tie return of switch 2 to feed of switch 3
Step 4, go to attic ,take out lamps.test each wire to ground and label switch 1 with continuity to ground,install lamp 1.label switch 2 that has cont. with switch1to ground, install lamp.label switch 3 that has cont. with switch 2.
Rick
 
It's a bum question!

stickboy1375 said:
If you had Three light switches in a basement, and each switch controls a single light fixture in the attic, The homeowner wants the switches labeled, but you can only go to the attic ONCE....What do you do?
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The way this is worded, there is a single light fixture in the attic. Therefore, all three switches supply the same light.

The label should read as follows:
This three-gang switchbox contains a 310.4 violation.

Or perhaps I'm sore because I didn't see this until it was already solved. :D
 
georgestolz said:
It's a bum question!


The way this is worded, there is a single light fixture in the attic. Therefore, all three switches supply the same light.

The label should read as follows:
This three-gang switchbox contains a 310.4 violation.

Or perhaps I'm sore because I didn't see this until it was already solved. :D
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Yes could have been re- worded, but hey it made sense to me when I wrote it! :)
 
benaround said:
Tallgirl,

No, no, no, witch radio is WARM!!!!
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I concede to the fact that we are *really* close to Old Hallow's Eve, but I think you mean "which" instead of "witch".

Turn on two switches, go to the attic, and choose one of the two illuminated lights to apply tallgirl's medium-base threaded adapter to. Crank up the radio to maximum volume on the most obnoxious radio station program currently being broadcast. Head back to the basement and turn off one of the switches still on. If the irritation persists, (and assuming it is still eminating from tallgirl's radio power supply), then the switch you just opened is conected to the other lamp and not the one with the oddly creative tester, and you may then identify all three loads according to their switches.

Dan
 
lol...I like the ON, Warm and COLD method...lol

Turn one ON and leave it.......before you go up turn another on and leave it on for a few minutes to get WARM and leave the other off and thus cold.....


I like that better...lol...no need to fuss or carry anything...lol......
 
dsteves said:
I concede to the fact that we are *really* close to Old Hallow's Eve, but I think you mean "which" instead of "witch".

Turn on two switches, go to the attic, and choose one of the two illuminated lights to apply tallgirl's medium-base threaded adapter to. Crank up the radio to maximum volume on the most obnoxious radio station program currently being broadcast. Head back to the basement and turn off one of the switches still on. If the irritation persists, (and assuming it is still eminating from tallgirl's radio power supply), then the switch you just opened is conected to the other lamp and not the one with the oddly creative tester, and you may then identify all three loads according to their switches.

Dan
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That's two trips :D

This works in one --

Go upstairs.

If no lights are on -- for the first bulb, remove the bulb and put a penny in the base. Replace the bulb. For the second bulb, implement Julie's Creative Concert Contraption. Go the the basement and flip a switch. If the breaker pops, you have the first bulb, turn off the switch, reset the breaker and continue. If you get noise, you have the second bulb. If nothing happens, you have the third bulb.

If one light is on, ignore it -- the switch must also be on. Remove one bulb, implement Juile's Creative Concert Contraption, go to the basement and turn on a switch. You now know all three based on noise or no noise.

If two lights are on, pick one according to the middle step of Dan's thingy, turning one of the two switches in the off position. You now know all three based on noise or no noise.

If three lights are on, find a rubber band and a candle. Smash two lightbulbs and using the radio as a circuit tester, identify the hot side of each smashed light bulb. Connect one side of the radio to neutral. Take a short scrap of wire and connect it to one of the hot wires from the smashed lightbulb. Now, use the rubber band to hold that hot wire to a similar wire that's been connected to the radio and smashed lightbulb on the other end. Move the radio away from the first bulb so that there is tension between the two rubber-banded together wires. Place the candle in a bowl of water (don't want to start any fires, yanno), light the candle and place it so that the rubber band will be melted in about 10 minutes. Run downstairs. Turn off the switches one by one, noting which of the three switches turns off the radio. It is for one of the first two bulbs. Leave it off. Now, turn the other two back on, one at a time. The switch which turns the radio on is the other of the first two and the other switch is the third. Leave the switch on for half an hour. If the radio goes off, the switch in the "on" position is the first bulb and the other of the first two is the second. If the radio stays on, it's the other way around. Don't worry about going back upstairs to put out the candle -- that's why you put it in a bowl of water ;)
 
threephase said:
Infinity, that was by far the best answer using the most common sense. I'm impressed.
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Thanks. This is really a simple logic question. I started thinking that if there were only two switches and two lights how would I determine which is which. The simple answer is turn one on and leave the other off. Expanding on that, I thought about adding a third light and switch to the equation. What would be the simplest way to identify that third light and switch since I already have figured out how to identify the other two. Then the idea of heating up the lamp came to me.
 
infinity said:
Thanks. This is really a simple logic question. I started thinking that if there were only two switches and two lights how would I determine which is which. The simple answer is turn one on and leave the other off. Expanding on that, I thought about adding a third light and switch to the equation. What would be the simplest way to identify that third light and switch since I already have figured out how to identify the other two. Then the idea of heating up the lamp came to me.
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OK, what if its a house way up north in winter. By the time you climb all the stairs to the attic the warm light is now cold? :D
 
The meter's a handy thing. If you don't have it, send the apprentice to the truck/shop and get it, along with a 60W, 75W and 100W set (1 ea) of lamps. Turn on all of the switches, go to the attic, install 60, 75 and 100w lamps in bases identified as 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Return to basement, and determine which switches are passing 0.5, 0.63 and 0.83A, associate in order with 1, 2 and 3 upstairs, and leave the HO with the new lamps. Nondestructive, one trip. You need the meter, though.

Dan
 
I was gonna put a light up in my attic, but now that I see how complicated it can be, I'll stick with my flash light. Besides, last week my next door neighbor discovered he had an attic in his new house with a light in it! The next day, he got a belly ache and went to the doctor. He told the doctor he thought he might have gotten sick from all the cotton candy he ate. He said the construction crew had left it laying all over his attic!
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
Wrong, so far we have not said anything about storage or equipment, so switches can be any where we like.
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Jim, I wouldn't red tag the job anymore than an ec would put attic light switches in the basement. Hence the green smiley. Besides, I'm an inspector. I can do what I want. In my town, it's easy to BS a few people. Ron
 
I know a way to successfully label any number of switches in an installation of this nature, and with only one trip.

Let us say you have five lights in the attic, controlled by five switches in the basement. Make it ten or fifty, if you prefer. For George?s sake, I will clarify that each switch controls one of the lights. Start in the attic, do something, then go to the basement and correctly label the switches. Then, without returning to the attic, collect your fee from the homeowner and go on to the next job.

Any takers?

You should all know what the ?something? is that I am referring to, since this is part of your normal daily work. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what I mean? Say no more!)
 
milwaukeesteve said:
So in this house, all four walls face south. On your way to the attic, you look out the window and see a bear. What color is the bear?
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You can't tell, because the bear is wearing a mink coat. ;)
 
Easy, Label each switch in the basement(attic light). You didn't say you needed to know what light it controlled in the attic.
Jim
 
Jim, I think the intent was to show which switch controlled which light. My method would achieve that, for any number of lights, with only one trip to the attic.

No takers, huh? :)
 
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