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Bathroom Wiring-no Joy

We had a pipe disconnect above the downstairs bathroom and the ceiling just about came down, so I decided since it was a hedious looking space, that it was a sign from the gods: Reno time!

Im now at the wiring stage. Originally there was a junction box with a light fixture out one side and a single pole switch(no ground screw...grnd wire attached to the box)on the other. Typical set up: white from switch marked "hot" or "black" at both ends, and spliced with the incoming power's black wire. Then remaining blacks are spliced together as are the remaining whites... grounded accordingly.

What Im trying to do now is add a GFCI receptical to the mix. But Im having some trouble figuring it all out. NOTE: light fixture is not installed yet, just the wire for it with the ends capped off with a wire nut on each of the wires (Wht/Black/Grnd)

First, whats in the walls: Circuits on a 15 AMP fuse with older (but not the oldest) 12/2 wire with a blue weaved fiber outside cover. Still looks to be in great shape. I've continued using newer, yellow (Lomex or Romex?) 12/2 from homedepot as I've read that you should not mix 14 and 12 together.

All that is on the cicuit is 3 pot lights with 65w bulbs, single bulb on the stairway and what ever goes in the bathroom, so from my math, there should be plenty of room left on the circuit.

What I've tried so far:

A: I spliced the "hot"/"black" white wire from the switch to the incoming power's black, like before. Then I spliced all remaining blacks together with a wire nut, then the same with all remaining whites and then all grounds (did not attach any grnd wire to the Junction box).

Result, Nothing. After switching on the power, I tested the GFCI with a voltage tester as well as the switch and got no read.

B: Undid everything, re-spliced all like to like: all blck together, all white together..etc.

Result: Fuse trips.

Im no electrician, which I imagine is blatantly obvious from the above post, but I am following a Homedepot wiring manual, its just that what Im trying to do is not really addressed in the book... at least not directly. So I've been trying to figure it out by reading every single page, but Im still at a loss.

I've attached a very basic diagram of what is there right now. Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

John

Light Only Works When Lead Is Wired To Ground?

I have an outdoor light fixture that I am trying to replace. The house was built ten years ago.

When I removed the original lamp, I noticed one of the two leads was wired to the ground, and one was wired to the black wire, which is hot per my current sensor. There are three wires in the box - black, ground (bare copper), and white or neutral, all from a single romex cable. Unfortunately, I do not recall where the white was when I removed the original.

I wired the new lamp per the instructions, something I have done many times before - black to black, white to white, and bare copper ground to ground. Nothing. The lamp and bulbs are brand new, and I have tried four separate bulbs. I checked the black and neutral with my current sensor and with the switch on and the lamp installed this way, both show as hot. With the lamp not installed, the switch on, and the wires disconnected only the black shows as hot. The switch is single pole, and appears to be wired correctly with a black to each screw on one side and a copper ground on the other.

Assuming the new fixture was bad, I reinstalled the old fixture correctly - black to black, white to white, and bare copper ground to ground. Still nothing. No light, and I confirmed the bulb is good by putting it in another lamp. The only way to get it to light is to connect the neutral in the lamp to the bare copper ground.

I capped the wires, turned the circuit back on, and identified all the outlets, switches and fixtures on the same circuit. I opened every one of them up (four lights and eight outlets) and found three (one switch and two fixtures in another room) where multiple commons connect. All were properly connected. My outlet tester shows all outlets as "correct". I found no instances of grounds connected to commons or vice-versa.

Any ideas? Is it proper to wire this thing the way I found it?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Fan Switch From Single Pole To . . .

Am doing a bathroom reno and installed a new fan. Original switch was a simple on off single pole. I want to install a DewPoint condensation fan switch that will turn on automatically at a certain moisture level.

The new switch as 4 wires. green ground, red fan, black power, and white neutral. I know the ground, but how do I hook up the neutral and fan to the existing fan set up?

There is a double pole light switch in the same box that has a couple wires to it, and there is a mass of whites that I am not sure where they go

Can I hook up the neutral somewhere else, or put it with the fan like a single pole? What do I do with this?

In the attached picture the switch on the right is the 2 pole light switch and on the left is the fan switch that I hope to replace.

Your Advice is appreciated

Wiring A Shed Light & Internal Power

I raised a shed and disconnected the wiring from the main building to the shed. Now it's a month later and it's time to hook the power back up. From the main building I have power into the shed with a white, black, red and copper wire. Originally the power went into the outside light fixture and then off of that it went to another light and two outlets. The original confiruation allowed of us to turn the shed's outside light on and off, from a switch inside the main building. With the power off to the light, we still had power to the outlets and internal light. The outside light fixture has black and white wires. The wire to the internal light and the outlets has a black, white, and copper wire. So how do I wire this so that the main building switch can control the outside light on the shed, while still having power to the internal light and outlets, regardless of the switch being on or off? (I wired the internal blacks and whites all together, which just ended up with the outside light always being on.)

Popped Breaker After Mis-wiring A Fan.

Hi, I recently moved into a 1954 house with a 20amp electrical system, not the old fuse type, but there are no ground wires.

I removed an old light and replaced it with a light fan combo. As I removed the old light (after turning off the breaker) I noticed from the ceiling that there were 2 white wires tied together with a wire nut and 2 black wires, one attached to the white wire in the light and the other attached to the black one from the light. Feeling this was wrong and should be black to black, white to white, (even knowing full well the light was working fine before I disconnected it) I wired the fan the way I've always wired fan lights, white to white, blue and black to black. (again, knowing full well the light was working the other way). Turned breaker on then powered on switch. POP at the switch, breaker switched off. I reworked it back to the way it was before with whites tied off, black to white, black and blue to black, turned it back on and viola, things worked fine. (I know, duh... Right???)

2 questions from this experience...

1. Why would the 2 whites be tied off with only black wires used?

And 2. It seems that one of the light switches in the same circuit as the blown one is now working soft. In other words, it used to make the normal click noise when turned on/off but now it just moves softly up and down without the click. Could I have damaged something when I mis-wired?

Adding Second Switch In Bathroom

Older house with the metal enclosed wiring has stumped me. I am attempting to add a second switch for a fan off existing light switch in bathroom. Existing wiring: W,B,R from panel, W,B to light. 2 white wire are tied together, two black wires to one contact and red to other contact on switch. Disconnected all wires and confirmed the black is live from panel. It seems to me the light is seeing power the entire time since the blacks are connected? I'm confused, please help. how do I add another switch onto this circuit? Thanks!

3-way Switch To Always Hot Receptacle - Wiring Trouble

Hello!

In a house I recently bought I have a strange situation.

There is a three way switch on one side of the wall with two sets of wires coming in:

Red, Black, White

Black, White

and then one stray Black that goes to the duplex receptacle on the other side of the wall (on the OUTSIDE of the wall! Clearly an afterthought.)

Into the receptacle goes this strange black single wire from the light switch and the usual black and white wires + ground wire.

I went to change the ugly receptacle to a decora and now it doesn't work, though I'm not 100% sure it worked before.

I've wired the new receptacle as I remember it being wired before, any idea what is wrong?

I've attached a diagram!

Thanks in advance for any input.

Need Help With Wiring

I have a light switch in my kitchen that is not being used. I plan to use it for a new light that will be installed over the counter. The switch box has a 3 way wire that is live. I have a basic current tester that lights up "110 V" when it detects a live circuit. When I use my circuit tester to test for current in the black wire (with neutral), it barely lights the tester. When I test the red wire (with neutral), there is no current. When i test the red and black together, the tester lights up nice and bright. So I am a little confused. I do not need it to be 3-way, this switch will only control one light. Any advice on how to wire this?

Thanks!

Replacing A 3way Electrical Switch.

I was changing out old switches in an old apartment when I came across this enigma. Switches in the kitchen and hall both operate the hall light. The switch in the kitchen was a regular 3way switch job with a red, a black and a white wire. The switch in the hall had four wires, 2 black and 2 white. I replaced this with a 4way which my husband said was incorrect. In the mean time until we find the correct type of switch (which I'm open to suggestions) we put the old ones back on but must have messed something up because now the kitchen switch only works when the hall one is positioned "down". I have multiple questions. What is the red wire hooked to? None of the wires in the 4-wire box read 110v so which one is the power coming in from? I'll stop here for now. Thanks.

Saving Money By Using 12 Awg On 15amp Circuits?

Would it be cost effective to use 12/2 wire to run 15amp circuits?

I read that using 12/2 wire instead of 14/2 wire on a 15amp circuit will reduce the energy loss from voltage drop over the distance travled. A 2% voltage drop

The book gives the example of 200 ft carrying 120volts on 14 AWG will drop 8 volts, with 12 AWG the loss would only be 3 volts. and then adds this "The apparent savings in initial cost by using undersize wire is soon offset by the cost of power wasted in the wires and by the reduction in efficiency of lamps, motors and so on."

the book is "Wiring Simplified" by H.P Richter

Voltage Detected -no Lights

I am only using a simple "non-contact" voltage detector. I am getting a reading from the switch, along part of the line and then at the lights themselves, but the lights are not coming on. I have not gotten into the attic yet to check the line and junction box. What could cause this? An open connection or loose connection? Any help with troubleshooting would be great.

This is a new install of lights, they were not existing. Power is at the switch. Had single pole now I have a double switch. (the existing light that was on the single pole is still working fine). At one point I connected just the new lights to the existing power, single pole switch, and still did not have lights.