Noob wiring question
#1
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Noob wiring question
hello..I bought a little track light system the other day, and it comes with a small transformer, with small black and white wires coming out of it..and black and white copper wires coming from the J-box..so I just color coordinated the wires together, and hooked up the other end of the transformer to the lighting system...and it worked...
Problem is theres no way to shut it off at night, except at the breaker...
So I went out and bought an interrupter switch, and attempted to wire that up to have an off option...so in one side of the switch, I hooked up the black wire from the Jbox to the black screw on the switch, and the white wire to the gold screw on the switch, then on the other side of the switch, I corresponded the wires from the small transformer into the switch....so then went to test it by turning the breaker back on, and nothing happened, so then I switched the wires to the other color of screw on the switch, that just tripped the breaker immediately when I tested it....
Anyone have a clue how I could add in the option to turn this off?The wires coming from the transformer are silver and much smaller than the wires coming from the home, which are copper..could that be the problem?
Or maybe what I did wrong?
Problem is theres no way to shut it off at night, except at the breaker...
So I went out and bought an interrupter switch, and attempted to wire that up to have an off option...so in one side of the switch, I hooked up the black wire from the Jbox to the black screw on the switch, and the white wire to the gold screw on the switch, then on the other side of the switch, I corresponded the wires from the small transformer into the switch....so then went to test it by turning the breaker back on, and nothing happened, so then I switched the wires to the other color of screw on the switch, that just tripped the breaker immediately when I tested it....
Anyone have a clue how I could add in the option to turn this off?The wires coming from the transformer are silver and much smaller than the wires coming from the home, which are copper..could that be the problem?
Or maybe what I did wrong?
#2
What was there before? Was it a light? Did it work?
Your post is a bit confusing. I'm not even sure where you put the switch. Where did you put the switch?
Tell us exactly what boxes you have and what wires are in each box.
Your post is a bit confusing. I'm not even sure where you put the switch. Where did you put the switch?
Tell us exactly what boxes you have and what wires are in each box.
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hi..it was older receptacle, with only a black and white wire in it...so what i did was wire the transformer that came with the lighting kit, to those black and white wires, and it works fine..i just cant shut it off, except at the breaker...I put the switch in that box where the plug was
Heres a baad MS paint diagram, for some reason it wont take the img code, so heres a link I was trying to post...
Heres a baad MS paint diagram, for some reason it wont take the img code, so heres a link I was trying to post...
Last edited by popkern; 10-03-06 at 06:51 PM.
#4
A typical light switch should be wired as follows:
Using a wire nut, connect the white wire to the white wire. Connect one black wire to the switch terminal - connect the other black wire to the other switch terminal. If there is a bare wire/green wire - those should be connected together also - and connected to the green screw (usually painted green) on the switch. Make sure you turn off the breaker before making your connections.
Using a wire nut, connect the white wire to the white wire. Connect one black wire to the switch terminal - connect the other black wire to the other switch terminal. If there is a bare wire/green wire - those should be connected together also - and connected to the green screw (usually painted green) on the switch. Make sure you turn off the breaker before making your connections.
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hmmm...so I just take the white wire from the small transformer, and connect it to the white from the wall, then connect the black wires from the wall and transformer to the switch screws?
Theres no green or ground wires on either, will that pose a problem?
Theres no green or ground wires on either, will that pose a problem?
#6
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You made a classic mistake. You attached both the hot and return wires to the switch. Of course it tripped the breaker when you turned the switch on. Shorting the hot to the return will trip the breaker every time.
When switching 120 volt electrical power, you only switch the hot wire. You need a regular 2-way switch. Connect the two black wires to the switch. Connect the white wires with a wire nut.
When switching 120 volt electrical power, you only switch the hot wire. You need a regular 2-way switch. Connect the two black wires to the switch. Connect the white wires with a wire nut.
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Thank you sirs for the quick help!
Now off to Ace to return this 15.00 interrupter, and get the .75 switch...
added**Thank you racraft..your simplistic instruction worked nice
Now off to Ace to return this 15.00 interrupter, and get the .75 switch...
added**Thank you racraft..your simplistic instruction worked nice
Last edited by popkern; 10-03-06 at 06:33 PM.