Dennis, I was just pointing out the problem with the "Reply" button not working and a few other things at the moment such as the edit function, I know there are work arounds.
Has anyone seen this type of switch before?
- Thread starter Dennis Alwon
- Start date
- Status
acin
Senior Member
- Location
- pacific grove california
- Occupation
- general building contractor est.1984 . C 10 elec. lic.as of 8 / 7/ 2020
That wire connected to the orange wire nut looks like it saw some heat
ptonsparky
Tom
- Occupation
- EC - retired
Those switches are common and are still available.
Frank DuVal
Senior Member
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor, Electrical Engineer
The HOT is switched, not the neutral. Look again. There is a HOT strap, but the load wire is on another screw terminal, low on the left side. How could the Neutral be switched if you can see the entire center strap with no breaks?
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
It is a feed thru terminal as well as the center assembly. One could bring a two wire cable in one end and leave the other with three wire cable with a hot and switched lead if they wanted. These switches, and similar looking receptacles, lampholders and even some terminal block with a KO in the cover for a pendant cord to exit are common around here on old installs with exposed NM cable from a time before EGC's were being run. There are some updated versions of some these devices that do have a EGC terminal in them as well.
it is
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
it is a self contained assembly, there is a cover that goes over top of everything and only switch handle sticks through.
I have seen replacements for them in Menards. Sometimes still nice to use one occasionally for replacement purposes, though sometimes the conductors don't reach where you want them to as they aren't always same terminal layout or size as what you are replacing.
I have seen replacements for them in Menards. Sometimes still nice to use one occasionally for replacement purposes, though sometimes the conductors don't reach where you want them to as they aren't always same terminal layout or size as what you are replacing.
Not following this at all. The yoke assembly looks solid from top to bottom, and so does the terminal on the side.
So I can't figure out what is being switched? Edit: Oh, now I see the other black wire on the left side of each switch. But still:
Also, there are 3 neutrals in and 2 neutrals out, but they also have all the neutrals jumpered together at the top? Don't know why?
So I can't figure out what is being switched? Edit: Oh, now I see the other black wire on the left side of each switch. But still:
Also, there are 3 neutrals in and 2 neutrals out, but they also have all the neutrals jumpered together at the top? Don't know why?
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Logic dictates that the mounting-strap terminals are for EGCs, the feed-through straps are for neutrals, and the actual switch terminals are for hots. Well, my logic anyway.
hbiss
EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
- Location
- Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
- Occupation
- EC
I looks as though the white is being used for the hot which runs through and supplies each switch. The yoke is one side of each switch, the strap is the other which is the switch leg with the blacks on them.
I think for safety purposes I would have put the hots on the straps so taking the cover off doesn't expose the person to that large, energized yoke.
-Hal
I think for safety purposes I would have put the hots on the straps so taking the cover off doesn't expose the person to that large, energized yoke.
-Hal
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
That leaves one terminal for the hot and switch leg....There isn't a terminal at the top left of the switch
readydave8
re member
- Location
- Clarkesville, Georgia
- Occupation
- electrician
thank you so much! I been backspacing through parts I don't want to quote, very tedious
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
If you had a three way version of the switch there would be a top left terminal, right side common left side SPDT output terminals.
In the absence of individual copper washers between each conductor there is a word for how the white wires are terminated. Let me think. Oh I remember now. That word is BOGUS!
Frank DuVal
Senior Member
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor, Electrical Engineer
No, the hot is black and the neutral is white. The big red N is very incorrect in the above picture. Look close at all the wires. The power comes in on the far left side "Romex". The power hot feeds the bottom left terminals of all three switches. The power hot to the loads is fed from the top right screws, which include the right side straps. The switched loads get the neutral from the top strap screw terminals in all three cases. The incoming neutral is connected to the top strap screw on the left switch (white and black in same "Romex"), and jumped to the other two switches top strap screw also.
On the middle switch, unswitched power leaves to other loads on the same circuit. Of course, this could be swapped with the far left "Romex" in power in /power out actuality.
The "Romex" on the far right, not contained in a box, is a later hack to feed something else, or to feed this when the actual feed got damaged. Check by disconnecting and see if switch bank still has power. Or ignore? Flying splice in wall....
So to summarize, one feed in, two feeds out, and three switched loads out.
These predate the grounded straps, and ground wire in the "Romex", so no EGC logic. And the actual switch terminals include the straps on the right side. Look closely at the rivets.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
MWBCs were quite common in the knob-and-tube days. This was done with some early NM cable, but likely within the time frame where K&T was still prominent.
VirutalElectrician
Senior Member
- Location
- Mpls, MN
- Occupation
- Sparky - Trying to be retired
I call these AG devices. I typically see them around here in old barns. They were quite popular around here in the era before the 80s. I don't see them used much anymore, but they are still readily available if you look for them.
https://www.google.com/search?q=bak....69i57.3032j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
That doesn't show the interior of the bakelite enclosure. Also these switches look like they have a special box for mounting. I also doubt that the neutral will be allowed to connect to the yoke. I suppose that would be the ground and neutrals just spliced in the box. Defeats the purpose of these
synchro
Senior Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Occupation
- EE
Here's a picture of the instruction sheet for Leviton surface mount devices from an Ebay listing for such a switch at the link below:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304390373068
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304390373068
- Status