If theres no neutral in the box shop for a smart switch that doesnt require a neutral. Twist together the two white wires and cap them securely.
How To Wire A 3 Way Light Switch Family Handyman
White wire on light switch. The cable has a black wire which connects directly to the circuit and a red wire which connects to the switch. A single pole single throw switch such as a light switch. I thought white wires were not suppose to be connected or attached to a light switch you said. Once this is completed follow the steps below to proceed with installation of your light switch or check out this diagram. If a white wire is connected to the switch it should be marked as a hot wire with either a piece of black tape or black marker as shown. First of all we should connect the ground wires to the box.
Assuming it is a steel box. Why white wires are sometimes used for light switches some older homes were wired where the neutral was switched not the hot and thank goodness that is not the practice. But sometimes a white wire is in fact. At the light it connects to the neutral terminal. The hot wire in a 120 volt residential ac circuit usually is coated with black insulation while the return or neutral wire is white. The black hot connection is broken to turn the light onoff the white neutral connection completes the circuit.
The ground wire also connects to the switch but the white wire gets spliced to the circuit neutral wire and bypasses the switch. The source neutral wire is spliced to the neutral on the receptacle half of the combo device and to the white cable wire running to the light. Locate an additional copper wire and combine it with the two copper wires by using your pliers to twist it into a. This type of switch lets you turn the light off or on from more than one place in the room. Wiring a light switch with the power coming to the switch and then going to the lights you will notice that there are two black wires two white wires and two ground wires bare wires. This is a diagram of a switch with a neutral.
If it doesnt work switch the lower wires. A three way switch is different. The bare hopefully solid copper wire is the ground. This is a typical wiring setup for a 3 way light switch with black white red and ground wires. Any wires connected to the existing switch are not neutral wires. The standard way to power a split tab outlet is to run a three conductor cable to a wall switch.
Well most of the time you are correct in your thinking. However many times an electrician will use a white wire as a switched leg but when this practice is used the wire. Two wire cable runs from the combo to the light fixture and the switch output is connected to the black wire running to the fixture hot terminal.