In our house there is a dining room light that has two regular dimmer switches that work with it. If either one is on then the light is on. If they're both on then the light is on and one of the dimmers gets rather hot. I've replaced outlets and switches before and it's usually straightforward, just put it back together the same way with the new piece. I haven't found a lot of crazy stuff in the house, maybe one nicked wire and some backstabbed connections. However, this dimmer wiring is strange and I know that regular dimmers aren't supposed to be used this way and the fact that one of them got hot makes me concerned. I took pictures and could use some guidance.
The one that gets hot (if both switches are on) is the first picture. It has a white and black wire both connected to the top screw and a red wire connected to the bottom screw. The ground wire was secured under one of the screws that mounts the switch in place.
The other dimmer has a bunch of wires. Inside the box are a black and white wire nutted together which don't connect to the switch. There's another wire nut that contains a black wire, a red wire, and a short (black) wire that goes to the switch. A third wire nut contains a white wire and a short (black) wire that goes to the switch. Lastly, the ground wire was secured under one of the screws that mounts the switch in place.
I'd like to switch to another (more legal/safer) setup that has at least 1 dimmer. Any advice on how to rewire this safely?
Here are the pictures:
The one that gets hot (if both switches are on) is the first picture. It has a white and black wire both connected to the top screw and a red wire connected to the bottom screw. The ground wire was secured under one of the screws that mounts the switch in place.
The other dimmer has a bunch of wires. Inside the box are a black and white wire nutted together which don't connect to the switch. There's another wire nut that contains a black wire, a red wire, and a short (black) wire that goes to the switch. A third wire nut contains a white wire and a short (black) wire that goes to the switch. Lastly, the ground wire was secured under one of the screws that mounts the switch in place.
I'd like to switch to another (more legal/safer) setup that has at least 1 dimmer. Any advice on how to rewire this safely?
Here are the pictures:
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