How do you know which wire is which on a light switch?

Load Wire – Generally connected to the top half of your switch. If the wire is coming from the top of the switch box, it is likely your load wire. Line Wire – Generally connected to the bottom half of your switch. In some cases, line wires are marked with “line”, “pwr”, or a lightning bolt symbol.

What are the different wires on a light switch?





Three wires will be attached to your switch: a hot (black) wire, a neutral (white) wire and a ground (copper) wire.

What color wire goes where on a light switch?

A standard single pole light switch will simply require you to attach the black (load) wire into it, and then the black wire leaving the switch and to your lights. The switch serves to cut the power from reaching the light switch. The white or neutral wire bypasses the switch and goes straight to your lights.

What does L1 l2 and COM mean?

The single direction plane switch has two L1 terminals, the terminal to which the neutral cable is connected – the blue cable (traditional black, before changing). COM or Common is the terminal to which the live core cable is connected – this is the brown cable (red era).

How do I know if a wire is neutral or live?

Identify the neutral wire in the fixture by looking at the wires. In most modern fixtures the neutral wire will be white and the hot wire is red or black. In some types of fixtures, both wires will be the same color.

How do you tell which wire is hot and which is neutral?





The black wire is the “hot” wire, it carries the electricity from the breaker panel into the switch or light source. The white wire is the “neutral” wire, it takes any unused electricity and current and sends it back to the breaker panel.

How do you rewire a light switch?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: So we're ready to disconnect our old switch now what you want to do is just pull it away from the wall. Find your two hot black wires. And unscrew the copper ends loosen up the screws.

Why does my light switch have 4 wires?

Since the switch cuts the power on and off, there will be a black wire coming into the switch and a black wire leaving. The whites are normally just connected together with a wire nut and the coppers are connected together with a wire nut or grounded to a metal junction box. So the new switch has four wires.

How do I wire a light switch with one wire?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: With the power off we connect the hot wire into our wire nut within the sealing box. We then run the neutral wire through the sealing box and into the light fitting.

Is L the same as COM on a light switch?



Wiring a One Way Switch



A one way light switch has two terminals which is a common marked as COM or C. The common is for the live wire that supplies the input voltage to the switch. The other terminal is marked as L1 and is the output to the light fixture.

How do you know if its L1 or L2?

L1 (line 1) is a red wire and L2 (line 2) is a black wire. Together, they show the motor voltage. Having both an L1 and L2 indicate that the motor voltage may be 240 volts.

What does L1 L2 and L3 mean on a light switch?

Note that L1 and L2 are never connected together. Again, some makes of switch may have alternative markings such as L1 L2 and L3. This type of switch is used where two switches control one light, such as at the top and bottom of a stairway.

Is L1 and L2 the same as 1 way and 2 way?



A two way switch (for switching a light from two different locations like in a hallway) has a common (C) a L1 and an L2 terminal. L1 is off when L2 is on and vice versa depending on the switch position. You can use a two way switch for one way switching. Just ignore the L2 terminal.

What happens if you wire a light switch wrong?

But here’s the catch: If you connect the circuit wires to the wrong terminals on an outlet, the outlet will still work but the polarity will be backward. When this happens, a lamp, for example, will have its bulb socket sleeve energized rather than the little tab inside the socket.

What color wires go to L1 L2 L3?

The USA has their own wiring colors for electrical circuits, black, red, and blue are used for 208 VAC three-phase; brown, orange and yellow are used for 480 VAC.



International Wiring Color Codes.

Ground (G) Green
Neutral (N) Black
Line 1 (L1) Red
Line 2 (L2) Yellow
Line 3 (L3) Blue

What color wires go together for a ceiling light?

Light fixtures with more than one lamp may have a pair of black and white wires for each lamp. These connect to the black and white wires in the electrical box with the provided larger wire nuts. Motion lights have black, white and red wires. Black and white always connect to black and white.

Which color wires go together?



The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active.



US AC power circuit wiring color codes.

Function Line, 3-phase
label L3
Color, common blue
Color, alternative yellow

What colour wires are 3-phase?

3-Phase Wire Color Codes

  • Phase 1 – Black wire.
  • Phase 2 – Red wire.
  • Phase 3 – Blue wire.
  • Neutral – White wire.
  • Ground – Green, Green with a Yellow Stripe, or Bare Wire.


What does L and N mean in electrical wiring?

Neutral and Load



The N & L stand for Neutral and Load. With your AC line in you should have three wires. Neutral, Load, and Ground. If your wires are color coded for the US then the black wire is Load or Hot, the white wire is Neutral, and the green wire is Ground.

Which wire is green?

ground wires

Blue and yellow wires are sometimes used as hot wires and as travelers, green wires (and bare copper wires) are ground wires, and white and gray wires are neutral.