help with outlet / light combo
#1
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help with outlet / light combo
I have a spare bedroom that I rewired, and I am having a problem where when I turn on the breaker to that room the ceiling light goes on when the light switch is in the off position.
It is currently setup as follows:
The power from the breaker comes into the first outlet box. From there the feed in is connected to the ceiling light and the next outlet down the wall. All 3 whites are nutted and have a pig tail, and all 3 blacks are nutted and have a pig tail, the pig tails are connected to the outlet itself. All 3 grounds are twisted together and have a crimp on them and only one bare copper strand is left for the ground connection. When I flip the switch it trips the breakers.
I'm not sure why or where I have it wired wrong. Unfortunatly this was the only way I could wire it as all the walls are still up and intact.
Any help would be great thanks...
It is currently setup as follows:
The power from the breaker comes into the first outlet box. From there the feed in is connected to the ceiling light and the next outlet down the wall. All 3 whites are nutted and have a pig tail, and all 3 blacks are nutted and have a pig tail, the pig tails are connected to the outlet itself. All 3 grounds are twisted together and have a crimp on them and only one bare copper strand is left for the ground connection. When I flip the switch it trips the breakers.
I'm not sure why or where I have it wired wrong. Unfortunatly this was the only way I could wire it as all the walls are still up and intact.
Any help would be great thanks...
#2
You went into great detail about the wires in that one receptacle box but gave no info at all about the wires in the switch nor light fixture, where the problem is. Can you explain what wires you have in these two locations?
Without having much to go on I'd say you originally had a switch loop and when you rewired the light fixture you mistakenly connected all the same colors together up there in the ceiling.
I need to know what wires are where though to confirm this.
-core
Without having much to go on I'd say you originally had a switch loop and when you rewired the light fixture you mistakenly connected all the same colors together up there in the ceiling.
I need to know what wires are where though to confirm this.
-core
#3
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the power to the light leaves the outlet box, and goes up to the ceiling box. Inside there is the power coming in (from the wire coming from the outlet box) and a feed going out to the switch on the wall. All whites are nutted and pigtailed and all blacks are the same. The white tail goes to silver, black tail goes to brass.
#4
Ok my suspicions were correct. In the ceiling fixture undo all the wires.
For the incoming power cable (from the receptacle outlet), the white wire gets connected to white/silver on the fixture. The black wire gets connected to the WHITE wire leading to the switch. Yes, black to white here. Place black tape on the white wire to identify it as hot. The black wire from the switch cable gets connected to the black/brass on the fixture.
There should not be any wirenuts with three wires in them.
You should also open the switch back up and put black tape on the other end of that white wire. Would also be a good time to see what kind of charring damage might have occurred in that switch.
-core
For the incoming power cable (from the receptacle outlet), the white wire gets connected to white/silver on the fixture. The black wire gets connected to the WHITE wire leading to the switch. Yes, black to white here. Place black tape on the white wire to identify it as hot. The black wire from the switch cable gets connected to the black/brass on the fixture.
There should not be any wirenuts with three wires in them.
You should also open the switch back up and put black tape on the other end of that white wire. Would also be a good time to see what kind of charring damage might have occurred in that switch.
-core
#5
Although you can remark with black tape as core suggests, I recommend you use a black permanent felt marker. It seems to last a bit longer than the tape (which tends to fall off when it gets old), and it's simpler to apply.
If you think about your current (incorrect) setup and draw a diagram, you'll easily see that your switch currently creates a direct short between the hot and neutral wires. No wonder it trips the breaker.
As you may have read in other posts in this forum, white wires are not always neutral.
If you think about your current (incorrect) setup and draw a diagram, you'll easily see that your switch currently creates a direct short between the hot and neutral wires. No wonder it trips the breaker.
As you may have read in other posts in this forum, white wires are not always neutral.