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re: home electrical question
Posted on 8/21/17 at 2:43 pm to cubsfinger
Posted on 8/21/17 at 2:43 pm to cubsfinger
quote:
also I thought you had already flipped every breaker in your main panel already.
I did flip every breaker, and the lights never went off. I flipped them off individually, but i didnt' turn the main breaker off.
The actual light switch for these porch lights are in my foyer, where there are two outlets and another light switch for the foyer light. All of those went off at some point, but the porch lights outside never did. There's literally an outlet right under the light switch so you'd think those two would be connected, but they aren't.
2
Posted on 8/21/17 at 2:51 pm to TeddyPadillac
Have you never changed out a hot switch before? I don't think I've ever flipped a breaker to change out a switch or plug.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 2:57 pm to MrLarson
quote:
Have you never changed out a hot switch before? I don't think I've ever flipped a breaker to change out a switch or plug.
I did yesterday, but i don't like to. I do not like playing with electricity. I've been shocked before, and I fortunately wasn't shocked when i was inside a panel on some very large equipment where i was removing an amp clamp and had the panel arc. Lucky i didn't get fried.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 2:59 pm to MrLarson
quote:
Have you never changed out a hot switch before? I don't think I've ever flipped a breaker to change out a switch or plug.
That's just dumb. DO you think it makes you tough to wire a hot switch? LOL
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:05 pm to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
quote:
DO you think it makes you tough to wire a hot switch? LOL
No, it's just laziness. I don't want to have to go figure out which breaker it is to kill the power. When I hard wired my stove in I made damn sure to go kill all the 220 in the house.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:05 pm to TeddyPadillac
Maybe the builder was lazy and they ran it to the panal for the AC because of some odd reason. 
My house was built by the original owner, and I have had to undo some stupid crap like that.
My house was built by the original owner, and I have had to undo some stupid crap like that.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:08 pm to TeddyPadillac
Do you have a main panel outside? Could be fed from there
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:14 pm to TeddyPadillac
One of these guys may be able to better explain it as I am more of a hobbyist electrician.
I built a house once and ended up with a receptacle that would not turn off with the breakers. I eventually just turned them all off and the main, that was the only way I could get it off to change it out. Scared the shite out of my with the receptacle next to it and after it were dead but this one was not. Called out the electrician to see what the problem was when he was there the next day. Supposedly the other guy working out there (he had just quit so we couldn't figure out why he got crossed) actually brought the hot to the main panel and somehow got another to the sub panel. What happened was it essentially turned the sub-panel into a secondary feed so you could not shut off the power to that receptacle without killing both breakers. I believe he got himself crossed with the lighting circuit for that room that ran to the sub-panel.
Anyway, point is you may have a secondary feed to that switch and unless you kill every breaker (or at least the right / wrong two at the same time) you can't kill power to that switch....
TL;DR: absentminded electrician may have crossed / double fed your switch so it won't kill power.
I built a house once and ended up with a receptacle that would not turn off with the breakers. I eventually just turned them all off and the main, that was the only way I could get it off to change it out. Scared the shite out of my with the receptacle next to it and after it were dead but this one was not. Called out the electrician to see what the problem was when he was there the next day. Supposedly the other guy working out there (he had just quit so we couldn't figure out why he got crossed) actually brought the hot to the main panel and somehow got another to the sub panel. What happened was it essentially turned the sub-panel into a secondary feed so you could not shut off the power to that receptacle without killing both breakers. I believe he got himself crossed with the lighting circuit for that room that ran to the sub-panel.
Anyway, point is you may have a secondary feed to that switch and unless you kill every breaker (or at least the right / wrong two at the same time) you can't kill power to that switch....
TL;DR: absentminded electrician may have crossed / double fed your switch so it won't kill power.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:15 pm to TeddyPadillac
If you turned off every breaker except the main and the light never went off, the outside light is being fed from another source if the wiring in the main panel is not afro engineered.
Have you pulled the dead front off of the main panel? ( where you can see the wires being landed on the breakers)... If you have just ensure that there is nothing out of the ordinary in there. Make sure there isn't any smaller gauge wires being jumped into the line side of the main.
Have you pulled the dead front off of the main panel? ( where you can see the wires being landed on the breakers)... If you have just ensure that there is nothing out of the ordinary in there. Make sure there isn't any smaller gauge wires being jumped into the line side of the main.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:15 pm to MrPappagiorgio
main panel is in my utility room, and i havent' seen another panel anywhere.
I've switched off the breakers for my AC and all the other big ones as well. I have literally turned off every single individual breaker off in the panel, and not a single one of them made the lights go off on the porch. I only turned off one at a time, so maybe it is connected to two of them, but how in the frick am i supposed to figure that out.
I've switched off the breakers for my AC and all the other big ones as well. I have literally turned off every single individual breaker off in the panel, and not a single one of them made the lights go off on the porch. I only turned off one at a time, so maybe it is connected to two of them, but how in the frick am i supposed to figure that out.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:17 pm to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
quote:
That's just dumb. DO you think it makes you tough to wire a hot switch? LOL
I have gotten lazy when doing some minor stuff around my house by myself. I get sick of walking back and forth until I can get everything labeled correctly. The only time I am absolutely turning off 110v (no matter how lazy I am being) is when I am in a hall / closet changing a switch and therefore won't be able to see shite with the light being off, or in someone else's home because I don't like taking risks with other people's shite.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:22 pm to MrLarson
quote:
Have you never changed out a hot switch before? I don't think I've ever flipped a breaker to change out a switch or plug.
That's dumb as shite. You're telling me you've switched tons of receptacles without turning power off? I really doubt it.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:22 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
I only turned off one at a time, so maybe it is connected to two of them, but how in the frick am i supposed to figure that out.
Without phone the wires to see which are connected to the switch? There is one way I know but you sure as hell won't like it (assuming you have 20 circuits):
Turn off:
1 and 2, 1 and 3, 1 and 4, 1 and 5, 1 and 6, 1 and 7,...
then
2 and 3, 2 and 4, 2 and 5,...
... until you have gone through every combination. Then call an electrician out and pay the man to figure out what the hell you have going on.
Or just go straight to the having the electrician come out.
ETA: I put in the note about "20 circuits" with the intent of doing the example all the way to 20, but then decided screw that, which is what you will do if / when you start that process.
This post was edited on 8/21/17 at 3:25 pm
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:40 pm to TeddyPadillac
I have a light on my back porch that has no switch anywhere. Previous owner put a light with a timer directly on it. That's good enough for me for now. However I also have a few switches that don't do anything in the house, yet with the other switches I can control everything on the house except that one light outside...one day I will fix it when I get that far down on my to do list.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:45 pm to Steadyhands
speaking of that Steadyhands, i have a lightswitch that you would think would control some lighting for the porch where i'm having this issue, but it doesn't control anything. It's in my kitchen where a door to outside goes, but i do not know what it controls.
There are a lot of weird electrical things at my house. bought it two years ago, so slowly learning about them as i go.
There are a lot of weird electrical things at my house. bought it two years ago, so slowly learning about them as i go.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 3:55 pm to The Rodfather
Just a fyi, 110v kills more people than any other voltage....The amps are what kills you. Generally speaking, the lower the voltage, the more amps.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 4:16 pm to TeddyPadillac
I'm a commercial electrician for Lafayette Utility Systems and while there may be some good information in thread, the idiot that said do the hot work should stop posting I've seen ehat electricity can do and trust me even 110 vac
it's nothing you should mess with or take for granted.
Anyway on with the problem, is there anyway you can get in your attic to see if there's a sub panel up there that's maybe feeding and AC evaporator or even a hot water tank. Someone could have tapped into a hot leg and just fed the switch directly
it's nothing you should mess with or take for granted.
Anyway on with the problem, is there anyway you can get in your attic to see if there's a sub panel up there that's maybe feeding and AC evaporator or even a hot water tank. Someone could have tapped into a hot leg and just fed the switch directly
Posted on 8/21/17 at 4:22 pm to MrLarson
quote:
No, it's just laziness. I don't want to have to go figure out which breaker it is to kill the power. When I hard wired my stove in I made damn sure to go kill all the 220 in the house.
110 is usually more dangerous than 220. 220 pops you, but 110 grabs you.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 4:22 pm to No8Easy2
the hot water tank is gas, and there isn't a sub panel for the AC, it's on the main panel. I've had AC issues and had to turn those off so i know where those are, and this light switch isnt' connected to the AC.
Posted on 8/21/17 at 4:33 pm to TeddyPadillac
quote:
There are a lot of weird electrical things at my house. bought it two years ago, so slowly learning about them as i go.
I know what you mean, going through the same sort of things at my house.
I don't see how you could have two live wires feeding one switch, that would create a 220 sort of circuit and if actually connected together they would sort of begin to weld things and melt things until a breaker popped. You could just get a decent pair of dikes that you don't mind ruining the tip on and cut the hot wire. I don't recommend this method though.
Check on the pole outside and check the meter box, there could be a second wire running from additional possible breakers in that panel. Unless you have verified already that the only wires going from the outside meter to your panel are the 3 or 4 main ones, I'd look closely out there.
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