replacing a dimmer switch with a standard light switch


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Old 11-10-11, 03:14 PM
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replacing a dimmer switch with a standard light switch

My downstairs living room lights (3 on the ceiling) were on a dimmer switch. Last week they would come on but were dim even with the switch all the way up. Now they don't come on at all. I assumed the problem to be the switch. I didn't care for the dimmer so I bought a standard switch instead. The switch is in a double box with another switch that operates a hallway light. The box has two romex cables routed into it both with white, black and bare copper and each are on their own breaker. When I pulled the cover off I noticed the dimmer had two black wires and one red with one of the wires capped to the ground (bare copper) from the other romex. Of course in my haste to disassemble I didn't take note of which wire on the dimmer was capped to the other ground. Real smart of me, I know. After removal, I fastened the bare copper from the hallway romex to the green screw on it's own switch. The hallway switch has the white at the top, black at the bottom and now the bare copper on the green screw. I wired the new switch for the living room ceiling lights exactly the same with the wires from its own romex and the hallway light works and the living room ceiling lights don't. What did I do wrong or is this correct? Could there be something else that failed? Any help is greatly appreciated. I don't want to have to call an electrician just yet. Thank you.
 
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Old 11-10-11, 03:24 PM
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Was the switch a single pole or a three way? Could you post a pic?

The red should not have been spliced to the grounding conductor.
 
 

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