New Honeywell In Wall Timer - Neutral vs ground wire

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03-19-13, 06:05 PM

Todd Berk

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New Honeywell In Wall Timer - Neutral vs ground wire

I had an Intermatic ST01 switch that worked well for three years, but started having problems so I replaced it with a Honeywell RPLS730B.

For the Intermatic you needed a ground wire, for the Honeywell you need a neutral wire. There is no neutral wire in the box that I am aware of so connected the Honeywell neutral wire to the ground wire in the box.

All seems to be working fine. This is new construction. Am I looking for problems here? Anything that could go wrong?

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03-19-13, 07:05 PM

CasualJoe

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All seems to be working fine. This is new construction. Am I looking for problems here? Anything that could go wrong?

If it's new construction, it won't, or shouldn't, pass inspection. If your area is under the 2011 NEC, a neutral conductor is required in each switch box. What you are now doing is using a bare ground wire as a current carrying conductor. It's a safety issue as well as a code violation.

03-19-13, 07:19 PM

Todd Berk

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I meant it is a newer home - not new construction. Three years old.

03-19-13, 07:24 PM

CasualJoe

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I meant it is a newer home - not new construction. Three years old.

Regardless, it's still a safety issue and a code violation. I'd either find a new timer that doesn't require a neutral conductor or think about doing some rewiring. If a bare current carrying conductor was OK to use, there would be no need for the black and white conductors to be insulated.