I have 2 red wires in the ceiling acting as a black and white wire (but I don't know which is which). I think the person who owned the house before may have done this. I took down the ceiling fan that was there without first noticing that the wires were not black and white (I know, I know). How should I go about figuring out which wire is "black" (hot) and which is "white"? I have a VOM. There is one wall switch that controls both the fan and its lights. What would happen if I got them backwards?! I assume the ceiling fan would be "hot," but what would I have to do to get shocked?!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have an additional question concerning my plan for a complete rewire that I will do under a permit and with the appropriate inspections. I alluded to the fact that this question may delve into the realm of the theoretical, so I thank you in advance for your indulgence. I live in what I consider a high crime community; If you go out of town, you may return to find your appliances or furniture missing and if you leave your garage door up while you dash to the store, you could come home to find a half-dozen folks picking through your belongings; Heck, we still have jailbreaks and train robberies in my neck of the woods.... What I'd like to do is simulate-somewhat, a Levithon Automated Home System without spending $35 per light switch. Ideally, I'd like to define two light circuits that could be wired, either through a programmable switch or with the programmable as the three-way. I hope this makes sense, but in case it doesn't, I'll offer a simplified word-picture of what I have in mind, though to be honest, it isn't exactly accurate; What I'd like to do is basically put every other light on a single circuit and have a programmable switch, operate as sort of a three-way, so that I can program the two circuits to be operating on an alternating schedule when I or the future homeowner is out-of-town because after all, I did buy this fixer-upper knowing that I will be selling it in a couple of years. And because all of my previous wiring experience consists of doing as I was told by folks more knowledgable than myself, I have once again, turned to this forum in hopes that one of you kind experts will help me think this through; What I have in mind is installing an Intermatic SS7C in the wiring closet and either, pigtailing it onto the circuit as a true three way for the entire circuit, or wiring it into the front of the line, so that if power is on through the programmable, the room switches would operate as normal; Or, if the programmable was set to auto and the room switches were turned-on, then the lights would follow the schedule set by the programmable. Because there apparently is no "common" on the programmable, I assume that wiring the circuit through the switch would be the way to go; But, before I draw this onto my plans, I'd really like to see if this is possible and get any hints, tips or instructions that you might want to share. And FYI; I'm thinking five to six standard overhead fixtures, per circuit. Though, I may want to include one flourescent fixture on each circuit, if that makes any difference in your response and of course, the cable will be sized to fit the load. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated and I'll be glad to provide any clarification desired. Also it should be pointed-out that I am not married to an Intermatic brand programmable, it's just the one that I can find which is also in my local supply house's catalog, so if you have an alternative product to point me towards, I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in Advance; R