Light Switch/outlet Combo, Load Issue

Hi, I have a problem where if I turn off my light switch on one side of the  room, it turns off anything plugged into the electrical outlet on the  other side of the room. For some reason, they originally wired that  outlet on the same circuit as the light switch. I would like to wire the  outlet so that it does not switch off whenever you switch off the light  on the opposite wall.



How do I go about doing that? Thanks.



(p.s. There are just the basic three wires in the electrical outlet; black/white/bare copper ground).
      

Hello I need seriouse help! In my situation I have a three switch, one for the light, one for the vent fan, and one for the heater. This is in a bathroom rent house. My problem is that when I turn the switch on for the light, the light and fan turn on, when I switch the heater on, that switch does nothing, the same when I switch the fan on. The wall plate is labeled: light, fan, heater. So what I attempted to do is put a switch outlet combo in. I have two black wires, two white wires and a ground. So I put the black wires on brass and the white wires on black,( they are black screws instead of silver, not sure if I got the right kind of switch). So when I did that, when I turn the switch on, the fan turns on, but no light, also when the switch is on the outlet is hot.( which fine that is how I want it). But what did I do wrong, why does fan work but not the light. I my biggest fear is that I might have made a fire hazard. Please help and tell me if what have done is safe, and maybe help me figure out how to turn the fan and light on with the same switch..  Thank you for all your input, have trouble falling asleep, keep thinking the house might burn down.. Sorry for the long post
      

hello

I am dealing with what seems like a strange issue with a single pole switch, and I am royally baffled even after reaching out to someone a little more knowledgeable than me.



Yesterday: Replaced with a single pole switch with an identical one that I painted (for decor reasons). Two wires were going into the old, and the same 2 wires are attached to the new one. However, the light it controls fails to come on despite light bulb being good, and outlet located 4 feet below the switch fails to operate. With voltmeter in hand I tested voltages.

At the switch: 3 wires feed into it, all whites capped together, and 2 of the 3 blacks (A,B,C) are hot with 110. A is hot and was/is connected to one of the terminals of the single pole switch. B and C (hot) are capped together with a jumper that goes to the other terminal of the single pole switch. So I am royally baffled as to why a switch would be wired with 2 hot wires going into it. I swear it has been like that since we bought the house a year ago, and the light worked fine. I simply replaced the switch with the same wiring, and now it doesnt work. I even touched both hots (A and C) independently to wire B which (using common sense) should be the load wire to the lamp, but the lamp did not come one.



Other outlets in that circuit do not work either. They get 110 to line and ground, but not across the outlet.



I hope I was clear in explaining, and I hope someone can possibly shed some light so I can resolve this.



Thank you
      

Hello,



I currently have one light switch which operates an outlet in one of my bedrooms.  I want to add a ceiling fan that has independent switches for the fan and light - but I want to make sure i'm wiring it correctly and safely.



Current (First Pic)- Live hot feeds into bottom of switch (bottom insert hole) and the all of the bedroom outlets (pig-tailed) tie into the bottom of the switch on the screw.  Coming out of the top of the switch is one hot which feeds to a single outlet.  All of the neutral and grounds are tied together.



New Plan (Second Pic)- Remove the constant outlet hot from the screw, add a new hot wire to the top of new switch and run a wire up to the attic for fan.  Add another hot wire from the bottom of that switch to the third switch and run another wire up to the attic for the lights.  Re-connect the constant outlet wire to the screw of the last switch.  Connect all the neutrals and all of the grounds together.



At the top of the ceiling, connect the neutrals and grounds together with the fans neutral and ground.  Connect the fan hot to the fan switch hot, and the fan light hot to the light switch hot.
      

I only have one outlet in my living room and I need another one for sure. What are some ways I can do this?  There is not another outlet on the other side of the wall, we had a electrician come add a light with switch and he said something about closing off a line behind the switch box.  Is it possible to re-open that line? We also have a attic which I was told at homedepot is easy to do if you have another outlet in the next room you don't use. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
      

Hey everyone - question about home wiring that was done when the house  was built about 20 years ago (which putting it delicately...is very  shoddy at best).  I'd like to think of myself as fairly knowledgeable in  basic home wiring...but this one has me baffled and I really hope  someone can help.



I am redoing a screened-in porch at the back of our house.  There is  currently a working outlet, and single-pole switch that turns on an  outside bug zapper, and a wire running coming into a second  switch...then leading into nothing in the ceiling (presumably for a  future ceiling fan / light install that was never completed).  I gutted  the entire porch and using one of those audible voltage testers,  discovered the wire than ran into the second switch / ceiling box did  NOT work. 



Not thinking much about it, I tried figuring out how the first switch  (to that outdoor bug zapper) was wired.  Most of the wiring for that  switch and the outlet I mentioned is behind the plywood sheathing of the  house...so it's near impossible to figure out where it goes.  Initially  it LOOKED like the power from the circuit panel came into the outlet  first...and then went out to the bug zapper switch.  (Why did I think  this?  The outlet had a B/W wire coming into it...and another B/W going  out back into the wall somewhere.  Tracing that wire along the basement  foundation best I could...it looked like it went right into the bug  zapper switch).  So wanting to completely eliminate the bug zapper  switch, I disconnected all of the wires that were connected to the  outlet to figure out which set was leading to it.



Here's where I got confused.  When I did this and re-tested voltage at  the outlet, one set of wires was live...and the other set was dead.  And  that makes perfect sense.  Yet the bug zapper switch STILL worked.  OK -  so my conclusion: the power for this bug zapper switch isn't coming  from the outlet.  No problem.  But just because I was near it, I decided  to also check that 2nd switch / ceiling wire combo...and what do you know - it was LIVE!



I got super excited it was working but then super baffled because I  didn't do anything to that ceiling wire at all.  In fact - all I did was  DISconnect 2 sets of wires at a nearby outlet. 



Confused but happy, I was ready to pack it in for the evening and  re-connected the incoming / outgoing wires back to the power outlet.   Flipped the circuit breaker on.  No issues.  BUT - now all of a sudden  the 2nd switch / ceiling wire that magically started working was NO  longer working - just like it hadn't been since I started this whole  process. 



Logic is telling me it's obviously got something to do with the outlet  wiring...since that's the only thing I messed with.  But why would the  ceiling wire all of a sudden become LIVE when the wires going into the  outlet were all disconnected?  It's certainly a first for me.  Can anyone help me figure this mystery out?  Thanks gang!
      

I am working on fixing an issue with the wiring in one of the bedrooms in my older mountain home. Though I was not present for the cause of the problem, here is what was told to me by the tennant.  he claimed that he went to turn on the light in the closet, (a 3 lamp track bar light, wired to a switch) he heard a loud pop from the light in the closet and lost power to to the room. The room has 6 recessed ceiling lights on 2 separate switches, presently only half of the lights work.There are no breakers tripped, no obvious shorts at outlets. I have opened the drywall following the wires around hoping to find a short but I have found nothing. I decided to try something, and I bridged the working switch to a dead outlet and everything turned on. I am waiting til the daytime to follow the wires outside to the breaker box, but so far no breaks or anything.. curious if anyone has any pointers.. could the pop he heard from the track lighting have killed a breaker? its about the only thing left.
      

Hello Guru's,



Can I throw a  standard 3 prong 110/120 receptacle on a 15A 2P 220v circuit? I need to run that 15A 2 pole 220 to a switch for central AC air handler service. I'd like to run to a switch with and outlet right next to it for service and still comply with NEC Code. This way, if service tech ever needs to plug a vacuum in or some other device, he'll have a something there. Is this possible or is that too powerful for 220v even though it's 15 Amps? Or should I just run a standard 15A 14/2 circuit.



Thanks



~S
      

OK, I'm an electrical dummy ...



I have finished basement w/a bathroom. We have an ejector pump off the bathroom that has been plugged into an outlet w/gfi since I've owned the house (10 years). There is also a booster fan for my electric dryer plugged into the outlet (has been the same for 10 years).  The only thing that has ever tripped up that outlet is using a hair buzzer in another outlet within the bathroom (but once you hit the reset its fine).

   

  This morning I realize the ejector pump was not sucking down the water from the drains. I looked at the outlet and realized it needed to be reset. When I reset it, the pump would run for a few seconds and the outlet would trip up again. Tried this a few times. Thought maybe it was an issue w/the outlet altogether. Neighbor suggested maybe it was an issue with the pump. Went thru various scenarios and bottom line is when I plug the pump into other outlets it works totally fine and once I do that and reset the outlet it was on, the booster fan works fine and the outlet does not trip. So, basically this outlet is tripping when the pump is on it but the pump is not tripping other outlets and the outlet works fine as long as the pump is not on it.

   

  What could be causing this? Why would an outlet that housed the two things on it all of a sudden continue to trip when the pump is on it but the pump is fine on its own in another outlet and the outlet is fine on its own w/o the pump?
      

Hello. I'm a new home owner and DIY-er. I have 3 fluorescent lights  in my basement. I just replaced the fixtures' older ballasts with new  T8 ballasts in the first two lights and they work fine. I am having  trouble with the third light's wiring to the ceiling. I cut and removed  the old ballast without paying much attention because I was able to wire  the first two lights without any problem. I connected the new ballast  to the bulb sockets in the fixture, just like I did with the first two  lights. When I went to connect the ballast's black and white power lines  to the ceiling lines, I was thrown off by a red wire, which I guess is  connected to the light switch.  In addition, this light is connected to  the one of the other fluorescent lights and both are controlled by the  switch. I have attached  pictures of how I have it wired.



The way I have it wired now,  the other light turns on and works fine when the switch is flipped.  However, this light has the bulb flicker and then not turn on. If anyone  can tell what I'm doing wrong from looking at the pictures, I'd  appreciate any help! Thanks!