In most cases a red wire present in an electrical outlet means that a switch can operate the outlet. More about wiring a light fixture.
Electrical Wire Color Codes Wiring Colors Chart
What is the red wire in electrical wiring. The greenor bare copper ground wire if the device has one attaches to the greenscrew terminal on the switch or to the electrical box. This wire is sometimes red. In a three conductor cable the extra wire is red and its almost always used as a hot wire. A red wire in an electrical outlet often indicates a second positive live wire. A red wire up in the ceiling fan junction box usually indicates that the wiring has been installed which provides separate switch for the light and a separate switch for the fan motor. The red wire is for the light switch.
Typically when a ceiling fan is installed the red wire is most commonly used for the light and the black is commonly for the fan motor. The black hot wire goes to the brass screw or into the hole in the back of the device on the same side as the brass screw. One is that the outlet is a 240 volt one which requires an extra hot wire. Red electrical wires are the secondary live wires in 220 volt circuits and are commonly found in a sheathed multi conductor cable. In most cases you see a red wire in an outlet box only in special circumstances. If turning the switch off turns the wire off the red wire delivers power from the light.
You can connect a red wire to another red wire or to a black wire. In standard 120 volt wiring the hot wire is black but it can also be red. How to replace an electrical outlet 0000. Another is that the box is on a circuit three way switch loop. When you see a red wire in a 120 volt duplex outlet box its usually because one of the outlets is operated by a wall switch while the other is always on. Red electrical wire indicates the secondary live wires in a 220 volt circuit used in some types of switch legs and in the interconnection between smoke detectors that are hard wired into the power system.
A live black wire a green or copper ground wire and a neutral white wire. If your ceiling fan does not have a light fixture then simply cap off the red wire and attach the fan motor to the black wire. These wires are typically used for switch wiring as well as the interconnection between smoke detectors hard wired into the power system. Generally electrical socket boxes come with three wires each of them colored differently. If the wire still is hot the wire is a hot wire that delivers electrical power to the branch circuit. The red wire as a spare wire when a ceiling fan is not installed this spare red wire is insulated with electrical tape or capped off with a wire nut.
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