Why do I have 2 live wires on my light switch?

An outlet may have two hot wires so that one wire may function as an ‘always on’ transmutation from the power supply, feeding the other wire. The other hot wire would transmute that voltage to another device or series of devices.

Can you put two wires on a light switch?





No, it is not safe. That screw terminal is made to take just one wire. Since it doesn’t use the switch as it’s intended (by its UL listing) it’s a code violation. It will make a poor connection, which can heat up and potentially cause a fire.

Why are there 2 black wires on light switch?

Black means hot, white signifies neutral, and green indicates ground. However, if you need to rewire a light switch or a plug socket, you may occasionally come across two black wires. It’s essential that you determine which black wire is hot before proceeding.

Why do I have 2 neutral wires?

When an outlet is connected in the middle of a circuit it will generally have more than two wires because two hot wires bring power in and carry it out to the next outlet while two neutral wires do the same.

How do you wire a light with two wires?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: You place the brown live wire into the loop and we place the green earth wire into the earth terminal the switch is slightly different so on the switch cable.

How do you wire a 2 wire light fixture?





Connect the lead wires from the fixture to the black hot wire in the electrical box by twisting a wire connector to the ends of the lead and hot wires. Repeat these connections with the two white neutral wires from the light fixture and the white neutral wire in the light fixture box.

Can you wire 2 black wires together?

This is the typical way to connect a switch. The 2 blacks connected are “power in, power out” to the next switch in the circuit. The pig-tail to the dimmer connected to the two blacks is also typical.

What do you do with a neutral wire in a light switch?

The neutral wire allows the completion of the circuit and the switch to have power even when it’s turned to the off position when you want the lights off. Without this neutral wire in place, the circuit is broken any time the switch is now in the off position. It remains has power when the switch is in the On Mode.

Can you wire a 3-way switch with 2 wires?

Question: Can I use a 3-way switch with just two wires? Answer: No. There must be three wires between the two switches. You CAN use the switch with only two wires, but it will act as a regular switch, not a three-way switch.

Can you leave a neutral wire unconnected?



Yes, Just cap off the neutral wire aka “grounded conductor”. Like the other Chris said, do not connect to the bare ground just leave as is with a wire nut on the end to keep it insulated.

Do all neutral wires need to be connected?

Currently all of the neutral (white) wires coming into the box are connected together (and not to the dimmers). The new dimmers require connections to the neutrals. There are three bundles of wires coming into the box, two of them having their own triads of hot, neutral, and ground.

What happens if you connect 2 hot wires?

Two hots of same circuit – nothing should happen.

Why are both white and black wires hot?



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 wire a light fixture with two black wires?

One should be silver, which is neutral, and the other would be copper, which is hot. Therefore, you would attach the copper wire to the black wire in the ceiling and the silver wire to the white one. Of course, always test as described above to ensure you have the proper connection.

What happens if you connect wrong wires?

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.

Can wiring a light switch wrong cause a fire?

Usually, a broken or failing light switch isn’t a fire hazard itself, but it can overheat if the contacts or the switch wear down. Sometimes a bad light switch can cause other components on the circuit, such as a bulb, to become a fire hazard by causing an intermittent current.

Does it matter which wire goes where on a light switch?



It doesn’t matter as long as you do it the same on both switches. So, if you connect it to the upper right terminal on one switch, connect it to the upper right terminal on the other switch. Connect the second traveler wire to the terminal opposite the red wire terminal.

What happens if you wire live and neutral wrong in a light?

There would be a shock hazard, and some devices might not work correctly. Depending on where exactly the wires are flipped, ground fault detecting circuit breakers may become ineffective. All around, this is a bad idea.

What happens if you connect live and neutral together?

When a live wire and neutral wire come in direct contact, what happens? It is the condition of the short circuit if the live wire directly comes to the neutral wire. … If Normal wire burns, the circuit will break and everything will become normal except for that wire.

Which wire is hot when both are same color?

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. In this case, the neutral wire is always identified by some means. In some cases, there will be small writing on the wiring case.