Need electrition's advice immediately!!!!!!!

[Larry_OHF]

I have a wiring problem with an overhead hallway light. This is what I am seeing.

> Two black wires connected together, or no power.
> One red wire.
> Two white wires previously connected together, but I changed that (explain later)

Now, when the light used to be connected...the two black wires were doing nothing but holding hands. The white wires were connected together and a runner from that connection led out to be used as one of the light fixture connections. The single red wire was the other light fixture connection. Now, I havee successfully created light by disconnecting the two white wires, and finding the "hot" one, and using that one as the fixture connection along with the red one. The other white one has been wrapped in electric tape and pushed aside. The black ones are still holding together.

Now the question>>>What was the use of the secondary white wire being interlocked in the previous connection? Have I created a potential fire hazard?

[andrewas]

Ive never heard of white wires in a lighting circuit. Only place Ive seen white used is in low-voltage applications and signal transfers, white is not in any of the wiring colour codes that I know of.

Mind you, Im scottish, american codes are weird from over here.

Normaly Id expect two blacks and one red on the light (please dont ask me why two blacks, its just the way they always are, I think that the second black runs off to the next light or something)

SO Id suggest putting that second white on the light. Or try connecting the black ones.

This advice is bsaed on nothing more than my own experiences with mucking around inside various things that I really shoudnt. Do be careful, woudnt like someone to electrocute themselves following my advice. Or at all come to that.

[Lanesra]

Your wire codes are different to ours but it sounds as if one of the twisted wires is a common , or a switch . Maybe this will help

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load...122018457.html

[Larry_OHF]

Oh...by the way...my house is not grounded...

Larry, what you are describing sounds like a standard three way switch arrangement. Do you have more than one wall switch for turning this light on and off? or isthere just one switch. If there is more than one do a web search on 3 way wiring...I have learned how to do those about a dozen times in my life and after each application have promptly forgotten how to wire them....something about the logic is just too slippery for my brain to hold. This may be something you want to talk to a bonafide electrician about.

Sorry Im not more help on this.

[Larry_OHF]

Ooops...I found the use for the other white wire. It is the connection to every light on the south side of the house. Dang. That wire has to touch the first one to get light to three rooms...as well sa run the hall light taht is immediately there at the point of cross-connection. Curse...

[andrewas]

OK, so the white runs to every light in the house, and the red comes in from each switch. Thats roughly what I thought it was, dunno what the blacks are for though. IN the UK black would do what the white is doing, so I guess at some point your house was re-wired.

Or maybe the blacks are running to the lights on the north side of the house, in which case it dosent really matter which set you use.

Connect the cold white to the same side of the light as the hot white and everything should work. A UK light fitting has three terminals on it, USA cant be that different.

[Larry_OHF]

Damnit to hell!

I got the stupid lights to work, but broke the damned glass light cover!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't do anything right!!!!!!!!!!!!