Is there a problem here?

[peter]

It was a good looking pipe job. The conduit came out of the nearby panel, bent up to the bottom of the switch box. Another short piece came down from there to the box for the required receptacle. From the top, the conduit went up to above door level, turned horizontal to the wall, another bend and ended about 4’ later in a proper box offset. Straps were in the appropriate places and the fittings were tight.
My job was simply to install a strip light to the end of the above conduit. The wires were already pulled and he had already made up the switch and receptacle boxes. However, I was somewhat concerned since, even though he had left ~4 feet of wires hanging out of the end of the conduit, two of the wires were black and, of course, the green. This was a problem since this was a 120 volt circuit and I needed a white wire.
So I decided to investigate and opened up the switch box. Inside I found—
The white wire and black wire for the receptacle [circuit #1] were wire-nutted to similar pieces of white and black wires which then headed down to the receptacle.
The ground wires were all properly pig tailed and connected to the metal box.
The black wire from the panel for circuit #2 was pigtailed to a short stub which went to one of the poles of the switch and also to another length of black wire which went up to my light.
The second white wire from the panel was also pigtailed with a short piece of black wire to the other pole of the switch and also to the other length of black wire which also went to the light.
So my Code question is: Is there any NEC code violations in this situation?
~Peter

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Peter-- it sounds like you have a the grounded conductor and the ungrounded connected to the switch???? Maybe I am reading it wrong but regardless if you have 2 black wires at the light with no white wire then there is a violation of 200.6

 

[480sparky]

I read it as a neutral of circuit #2 goes through a s-pole switch, along with the hot of that circuit. But it is black as it comes out.

As near as I can tell, the neutral after the switch is a black wire. Use a little white tape, and you've properly re-identified it.

Better yet, since it's such a short run, why not just replace it with a white THHN and sleep well tonight?

 

[sybrandy]

I would have to agree with Dennis on this one. If you read article 200.6 (A), the entire length of the wire must be white. If it was an ungrounded conductor you could just tag the end of the wire for indentification.

 

[crossman]

I'm with Dennis, it sounds like there is going to be a short circuit if the switch is closed. However, the use of the term "pole" in the OP is possibly not correct.

Is this a single-pole switch or a double-pole switch? Instead of pole, did the OP mean "terminal"?

 

[K8MHZ]

The second white wire from the panel was also pigtailed with a short piece of black wire to the other pole of the switch and also to the other length of black wire which also went to the light.

Does the breaker trip when you turn the switch on? Or is it a GE panel and turning the switch on causes the wiring to catch fire?

If you are using SquareD breakers it sounds like you have to turn the switch off and the breaker on the turn on the light. Turning the switch on would trip the breaker, turning the light off. You could turn the light on and off with the breaker, but only off with the switch and not back on again.

I would call it a 'Redneck 3-way' circuit.

 

[engy]

Sounds like the neutral is being switched... 404.2

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

If Peter wrote what he meant, then there are a couple of violations...it would not matter too much though, as the circuit is going to trip and will have to be fixed. At that time he can make it code compliant.

 

[JES2727]

Not being able to hear peter's tone of voice when he asked "Is there any NEC code violations in this situation?" leaves us all at a disadvantage. But I'm betting it was meant in a rhetorical/sarcastic kind of tone. I think peter knows exactly what is wrong and he's just being kind enough to share his joy of discovery with us. Thanks Peter!

 

[peter]

Just to clarify: it is an ordinary, single pole, single throw switch.
Here's a clue for you all: the violation is not 200.6 but 404.6 sounds close.
~Peter

 

[76nemo]

I am going to get picked on,...

I am going to get picked on,...

Instead of tape, I like heat shrink, whatever color. I know this takes up more time, maybe a little labor. I like to be meticulous in this fashion. I like the looks better than tape. How many are laughing at me????

 

[peter d]

I'm sure the California certification process will fix problems like this.

 

[George Stolz]

Peter - last year's thread was way better.

 

[LarryFine]

The switch was obviously wired as if it was a receptacle.

 

[hillbilly]

Or is it a GE panel and turning the switch on causes the wiring to catch fire?

Can you document this statement with any facts?

Not being a wise a**, but I sometimes use GE products and I'm wondering if there's something that I don't know.

Just curious
steve

 

[peter]

George,
I guess I got you too [again! ]. This is my most subtle escapade yet!
There is a very profond point buried in the original post.

I don't think switching the neutral is the problem. If one leg of the neutral attached to one terminal of the switch and the rest of the neutral run were attached to the other terminal, then the neutral would be switched. But it's not. But this is mere quibbling.

As for the color issue: If one of the wires coming out of the pipe were white, I would not have realized that there was a problem. For the purpose of this question, assume that all the neutrals were white.
The profound question thus remains: what is the fundamental NEC violation? Cite a Code reference.
~Peter

 

[George Stolz]

George,
I guess I got you too [again! ]. This is my most subtle escapade yet!

You didn't get me. At breaktime, I thought about you and wondered what we had in store this year.

I'll try to think about the content tomorrow night, maybe.