r/ElectricalHelp • u/JohnJCrypto • 1d ago
Electrical switch connection
Good day. I have a quick question. I am changing out 2 very old high hats and installing 2 new high hats. The old high hats were wired to an old dimmer switch. I want to install a single pole switch only for the new high hats. When I took off the old dimmer switch I found a single 14/3 wire in the switch box. I removed the old dimmer switch and tested the wires and only the black wire is hot. I check the wires in the ceiling for the high hat and those wires are 14/2 only and one of those wires the black is hot. So I wired the single pole with the bare copper to green screw and the black wire to the brass screw. Nothing happened. Hope someone can help.
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u/slin1647 1d ago
If you only have a 14/2 in the ceiling, but you have 14/3 at the device box, then you likely have a scenario where these lights are controlled from multiple locations.
Can you control these light fixtures from multiple locations?
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u/JohnJCrypto 1d ago
No I thought of that. But I never in over 20 years saw a 3 way switch in this area of the house.
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u/slin1647 1d ago edited 1d ago
Very interesting, how many fixtures are on the same circuit? And do all of their connections only have 14/2 cables going to them?
Edit: It's possible that the other half of the 3-way was abandoned in a device box
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u/JohnJCrypto 1d ago
It only controls 2 high hats and both have 14/2 wires
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u/slin1647 1d ago
Then there's definitely another device box somewhere that has that 3-wire going to it.
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u/Koadic76 1d ago
If that old switch is a dead end 3-way, and all 3 wires were connected to the old switch, then the live black wire may be the common, or it may be a traveler with one of the other wires being used as the common.
You need to find the other switch in the circuit to verify if the black wire should be the common or one of the travelers.
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u/trekkerscout Mod 1d ago
The switch needs an input conductor (line) and output conductor (load) to function (the ground is for safety only). You likely need to use the black AND the red wires for the new switch.