One is bringing power in and the other is bringing power out. When installing a switchoutlet combo unit youll want to know the difference between the two sets of wires coming into the light switch box.
Help Wiring Light Switch W 4 Wires Electrical Diy
How to install a light switch with 4 wires. To help guide you through wiring a light switch yourself we wanted to highlight a great post from the smartthings community posted by sidjohn1. Connect one black wire from the dimmer to the black wire inside the switch box by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires. There are many ways to control and automate your lights with smartthings. Your switch may have slots to push the wires straight into place rather than use the screws on the side. A light switch has 4 wires sometimes 2 white and 2 black wires. Which is called a pigtail connecting to the silver screw on the pull chain fixture.
Some 4 way switches may have the in and out pairs opposite each other rather than top and bottom. One will be the power line coming from the breaker box and the other will be the wires connected from the light switch to the light fixture. What they did was instead of splicing the 2 feeds together and making a tail they put one under the screw and back stabbed the other which i hate cause it always pulls out after awhile. The wire strippers should have a spot marked for each gauge wire. The top wire is your switch leg. Attach the black and whiteblue traveler wires entering the 4 way switch box to the in terminals often the top terminals on the 4 way switch black on the left top pole and whiteblue on the right top pole.
The two wires on the bottom of the switch is your feeds. The blacks are also connected to each other with a short wire another pigtail to the brass screw on the fixture. Next bend the wire into a pig tail loop so that you can easily attach to the screws on the light switch. Twist another orange wire connector to the remaining black wire on the dimmer connecting it with the white wire wrapped in black electrical tape. The whites are connected together with a short third wire. If you choose to control your overhead lighting with smart switches or dimmers youll either want to hire an electrician to install the switch or wire the light yourself.