Outlet without neutral


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Old 11-05-17, 10:47 AM
J
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Outlet without neutral

Hello everybody,
I have a switch in my patio that runs the pool light. I've already checked it to make sure it is not 220. What I would like to do is use the power from this switch to run an additional switch that will control an outlet. However, the current switch only has 3 cables; red (power source), black (switch hot to the light), and green (ground). There is not a white neutral cable and the box is on the outside of the concrete so I know it's not tucked away somewhere and my understanding is that an outlet cannot work without a neutral. Is this correct? Is there a safe way to make this work safely? I purchased an outdoor weather proof box that comes with a GFI outlet from Home Depot and not sure how to proceed. Thank you.
 
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Old 11-05-17, 10:53 AM
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Welcome to the forums.

You have three wires there..... red, black and green. A cable is multiple wires in one sheath.

Since you have red, black and green it would appear you have a conduit system. There is no neutral at that switch location but you may be able to run a neutral thru the conduit. You'd need to know where that switch conduits goes to.
 
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Old 11-05-17, 02:43 PM
J
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Thank you for the reply. I know that the wires go from the switch down to PVC pipe into the concrete and it is for the pool light. Otherwise I don't know that I can tell where it goes. With the wires that I do have, is it possible to accomplish what I want or do I have to go about a different way?
 
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Old 11-05-17, 03:13 PM
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You do NOT have a neutral there. You have a hot feed, a switched hot to the light, and a ground. That switch box conduit does not go to the light. It goes to somewhere before the light. It's up to you to find out where.
 
 

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