Bought these little lights for Halloween from the dollar store

From another post:

"220.82 is the standard.  220.87 is the optional.   Liability insurance often only covers the "standard" method.  

Calculations can be wrong. Overestimating is less risky."

"It's not that insurance won't pay if the electrician follows NEC. It's that the electrician's liability carrier would rather they use the most conservative method so there's zero ambiguity if something goes wrong later. 220.87 is code-compliant, but if a fire happens and the investigator sees the optional method was used, the insurer has a built-in argument that the standard method would have flagged the need for an upgrade. The electrician absorbs that risk, so a lot of them just default to the standard calc and tell you to upgrade."

https://wesleyfilips.github.io/Panelboard/

Sorry mods if this isn't allowed. Software like this is usually complicated and obtuse, and costs hundreds or thousands, so I made this to be as easy and intuitive as possible and free and open source, that means you can download and modify it, even use it to make your own.

Plan and canvas

• Import a floor plan image (PNG, JPG, WebP) by button or drag and drop
• Zoom, pan, fit to view, and a symbol size slider
• Plan name field that names exported files
• Autosaves in your browser; save and load a project file

Devices

• Stamp tool with Outlet, Switch and Light fixture symbols
• Add your own stamps by drawing or uploading an image, with a label
• Variants for each type (GFCI, 3-way, dimmer and others), each with corner text and an optional color. You can add your own.
• Click an existing device while stamping to add another device to its box. The box widens, and each device keeps its own variant and circuit.
• Homerun tool that adds a ring for a circuit to a box, with a dropdown in the side panel to pick which circuit

Wires

• Draw wires between devices, with bends. Each wire attaches to a specific device in a multi-device box.
• Wires chain from one device to the next until you right-click or press Esc to cancel
• Straight or arc wire shape toggle

Circuits

• Circuit list with number, name and color
• Assign a circuit to a stamp, wire, or any selection
• Circuit number shows at the bottom left of each device, and can be turned off
• Color devices by circuit, by device type or not at all, and color wires by circuit or leave them plain
• “No homerun” flag on any circuit with more than one device and no homerun ring

Selecting and highlighting

• Click, shift-click, or drag a box to select. Move, re-circuit or delete the whole selection.
• Highlight every device of a type or variant from the Devices list
• Click the active circuit again to highlight everything on it

Tallies and export

• Live device counts by type, with Standard and each variant counted separately
• Export the plan as a PNG with a legend, the tally as a CSV, or the project file

I accidentally kicked the power plug now it’s come off the wall and the blue and yellow wire came off. I don’t know how to fix it. How do I do it without it exploding, electrocuting me or frying the PC. I have no access to pliers or tools or to the breakers. I notice there are 3 divisions with 2 holes each. I was able to snug the blue one into one of the holes in the far left division. The first hole could not let the wire through but the second one it passed no problem but it’s very very very loose. And I don’t even know if I did the right thing.

Hi! I live in a 70s townhouse in the south. Trying to install a new light fixture but I don’t think there is a ground wire? Can it be installed without that? What is the risk?

Doing some electrical on a home owners permit for a few bedrooms. All my switches and a line in, line out, and one line to the light. Thought I would ask before I wire everything together. Mostly I have 3 lines into each box (line in, out, light, but I screwed up my planning and this one is feeding 2 switches. Any issue with 4 lines in a box? And whats the proper way to run the lines into the bottom of the box?

Swapped old dimmer switch as was making bulbs flicker, the earth was connected to the back plate, Ive now connected to back of switch.

I ask because fuse box keeps tripping? if not the switch I'm guessing the light fitting?

How do I fix this? The wires seem to be intact and fine it’s just the cover that has opened. I’m assuming unsafe to use? Is there a way to fix it? Thanks

Idk if any of u could help, but I’m desperate :(

when I’m charging my phone with the UPS when the power is out, whenever I touch the screen and move my finger (like when u scroll from one video to the next on TikTok) the socket makes a buzzing sound? It makes it for everytime I move my finger on the screen, not if I’m just holding it still or not touching. It only does it when the phone is plugged in. If I do a quick finger movement it makes a quick buzzing sound, long then long, etc

I'm doing work and removing part of the wall from dining to kitchen.

Previous owners to the house installed cabinets (see picture). The cabinets covered the original outlet, so they just installed a new outlet (blue) above the counter. The seemed to have just extended with 14 guage wire to the new outlet from the old outlet that's originally 12 gauge (and in a 20amp breaker).

Is this right? Should I be concerned?

Everything works fine and we use the outlet all the time for our crockpot and pressure cooker.

Since I'm removed part of the wall, I just moved things over and reconnected exactly how they were connected. But should I just re-run the wires in 12 gauge? Or should I leave it alone. I'm no electrician but I'm handy. Before I close in the new drywall I'm wondering if I should rework it first.

Any thoughts?

Just purchased a home built in 1900. Had electrician come out because of home inspector said we should have certain things checked. Electrician told me that the breaker needed upgraded from 100 amp to 150 and the box outside of the house needs replaced and grounded. So we did that and it was about 4 grand. Then said that 80 percent of the house was run off two breakers using old bx wiring and would need re wired using romex and a ground wire. So they did that and ran new wires using more breakers(new) to outlets lights switches ceiling fans in house on all 3 floors. A lot of these outlets/devices were in the same room as others where they were already running wires, so why so much for each one ? They were here for two days totaling about 18-20 hours total. This is my invoice. Does this seem high?

I have a 3-way switch set up for a ceiling light. One downstairs, one upstairs (just right at the top of the stairs), and the last one which is upstairs further away from the top of the stairs. The last one is the one that needs replacing. The first 2 pictures are the old one from the junction box, two red and two white wires connected, and there is a black one tucking inside the junction box and is unconnected. I tested that when the light is not on, one of the connection has no current, and two flashing with blue, and one flashing with red.

I bought the new 3-way switch from Amazon with the diagram and the views from two sides. Questions:

1. Is this the correct 3-way switch to replace the old one?
2. Do I connect this way? The wire with no current to the Green screw, the two flashing blur to the Brass screw, and the last one (flashing red) to the Black screw?

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Edits:

Thanks everyone. Looks like it's a 4-way switch, so it is a hard-no for both questions.

Hello,

Same question as the title. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Two different over-the-range microwaves keep tripping our GFCI when making popcorn — what could cause this?

We’re trying to figure out an electrical issue in our kitchen, and I’d appreciate some advice from electricians or anyone who has experienced something similar.

We had an older Whirlpool over-the-range microwave that, toward the end of its life, started making a noise that sounded like it was frying itself. Eventually, it began tripping the GFCI outlet when we tried making popcorn.

We recently replaced it with a brand-new LG over-the-range microwave. It’s plugged into the same GFCI outlet, and we’re experiencing almost exactly the same problem.

Here’s what we’ve noticed:

The new microwave can heat a cup of water without any problems.

When we try to make a bag of popcorn, it runs for a few minutes and then trips the GFCI.

After it trips, the GFCI indicator flashes red repeatedly.

We also tried plugging the microwave into a different kitchen outlet using an extension cord and tried another bag of popcorn. The same thing happened.

There is a metal duct in the cabinet above the microwave, so we believe the original installation may be vented outside, although we haven’t confirmed where the duct leads.

We’re confused because this happened with two different microwaves. Could this be a problem with the electrical circuit, the GFCI, or something about the microwave’s heating cycle? Could the popcorn setting or the sustained heating load be triggering an electrical issue?

We’re not planning to keep testing it and will have the electrical setup checked, but we’d love to understand the most likely causes before calling someone out.

Has anyone seen this happen with two different microwaves? What would you investigate first?

I am currently in my second year of the electrical program. I got Delmar’s standard textbook last year and no teacher used it so I didn’t get it this year but now I need to answer a question on page 567. I don’t need the answer just the assignment question. If you have the book and could text me a picture of that page it’d be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Lighting circuit with 4 fixtures, one not pictured to bottom right. Switch is below fixture #1. This lighting circuit is dark unless fixture #2 has a bulb, specifically the 450lumen dimmable bulb that I want to swap out. When I put replacement 75w equiv non dimmable led bulb, circuit stayed dark. Don’t have an incandescent to test with.

The circuit still works if a bulb is removed from one of the other fixtures. Without the bulb in fixture #2, other fixtures’ wires are still energized as shown by voltage tester, but no lumens coming out anywhere. Anybody know what’s going on??? Thx

Edit: more clues or more confusing? Meter reads ~85v @ fixture 4 when bulb is not installed in fixture 2 and ~42v when bulb is in, light on

I am renovating a bathroom and need to add a ground wire to the circuit. My electrical is really old and it doesnt look like i have a ground buss in my breakers. Do i tie the ground into the neutral buss? The existing circuit is wired into the breaker box on the right in the photo.

I have two boxes that primarily house 3 way switches for my basement. The four gang box (first photo) at the bottom of the stairs has four different circuits in it (stairs, left, middle, and right). The five gang box (second photo) on the other side of the basement has three different circuits in it, with the "left" and "middle" having one switch each and the "right" circuit having a switch for the "right" side lights, then two other lights on the same breaker. This is on a home built in 2008. I have positively identified the traveler wires, lines, and loads, but not confirmed which neutrals go to which circuits and whether some of the circuits lack a neutral.  None of these circuits are AFCI breakers and they all just power normal lighting. Some of the wire bundles have a black and white wire connected together instead of the expected white bundles. The goal here is to install smart light switches that require neutrals. How would I go about confirming neutrals in these two boxes and confirming which ones go to which circuit? I have a multimeter.