Troubleshooting Light Fixture Wiring


  #1  
Old 10-21-14, 07:19 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Troubleshooting Light Fixture Wiring

So my brother in law tried to change a light fixture. Instead of just putting the wires back the way he found them he changed splices causing problems. There is four sets of 2-wire coming in at the fixture (power in, two switches and power out)? I have only been able to identify the power in and am having trouble identifying the other three sets. I have a multimeter but am not very great with it. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
  #2  
Old 10-21-14, 07:49 PM
pcboss's Avatar
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 13,976
Received 194 Upvotes on 170 Posts
You are going to need to identify the colors of wires on the switches to help narrow this down. You can also use the continuity setting to see which wires are switched.
 
  #3  
Old 10-21-14, 09:42 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
Just to expound on the boss's suggestions.....

Identify the hot cable and mark it.
Double check the other three cables for power
Now turn that circuit off.

Set your meter to the ohm's scale.
Connect the leads to one pair of wires at a time. Try each switch. Mark your switch leads.
The remaining wire should be your line out.

Since you have two switches..... we can assume the one switch will control the light at the box you are currently working in. The other wire that you are calling "power out" must feed the second switch item...... correct ?
 
  #4  
Old 10-22-14, 11:50 AM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
To identify the color of the wires there is four sets of black and white wires.

I have identified the one hot set and labeled it so that is out of the way (no other hots). I guess the next step is to try and figure out which set of those wires go to switches. Once I do that I should be able to get through the rest or have to call a electrician. If i get stuck again maybe I will just take pictures to better explain it to you.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: