2 black 1 red wire in weird configuration


  #1  
Old 09-18-18, 03:38 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
2 black 1 red wire in weird configuration

Hi guys, please help me out with this one.
I’m replacing all my switches on my new home and couldn’t solve this one. It has two black wires coming from different cables put together on a pigtail, one additional black wire from a third cable and one red wire, coming from this same third cable. I tried to put them as a 2-way switch (both loose black tips on one side and the red on the other) and the circuit breaker trips. I then looked what happened if I would let all of them loose and two lights from nearby rooms do not switch on. This is the only place on the house I’ve found a red wire so far. The house is around 30 years old and it seems switches have never been touched before.
Thanks!

Name:  sx.jpg
Views: 2323
Size:  52.5 KB
 

Last edited by PJmax; 09-18-18 at 03:59 PM. Reason: cropped/reoriented/enhanced picture
  #2  
Old 09-18-18, 03:42 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Additional information: my voltmeter shows 127V between the blacks and ground, 127V between blacks and red and 0V between red and ground...
 
  #3  
Old 09-18-18, 04:04 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,937
Received 3,951 Upvotes on 3,544 Posts
Welcome to the forums.

That means black is hot and red is a load.
You have a single black and a pair of blacks. Which black showed hot to ground ?

Did you take a single pole switch out of there ?
 
 

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