Changing 240v To L6-30

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!
      

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?
      

I am trying to install a SunSmart Digital Timer to my hall lightswitch (single pole). The timer has 5 wires: Black, White, Blue, Red, and Green. My switch box only has 3 wires: Black, White, and the bare ground wire. I connected the black to the black, white to white, and green to the bare ground. I have power to the timer but the light doesn't work. What should I do with the blue and red wires? Right now I have each capped off. Thanks.
      

I have two 3-way switches in my master bath that have never worked properly. The house is very old and has been worked on over the years by many different people with greatly varying levels of skill. I was finally fed up with these switches and tried to fix them. I tried to follow instructions I found online, so with the power off I disconnected all the wires from both switches, then turned the power back on and used my volt-meter to discover which wire was hot. It turned out to the a red wire at switch #1. The other two wires are white and black (and yes, there also is a ground). I connected this hot wire to the darkest screw, connected the white and black to the other two screws and tried to test for continuity at the other switch. I couldn't get a reading on any of the wires at the other end. I tried turning the power back on and testing to see which wire was now hot at the second switch. It was the white wire, so I attached that to the darkest terminal, and attached the red and black to the other two terminals. The switches don't work any better than they did before I started - that is, both switches have to be turned on for the light to come on. What is my problem here? Thank you!
      

I'm replacing my electric range with gas.  The electric has (I think) a four-wire #6 or #8 cable approx 60ft run with a 40a dual post breaker.  I say "I think" because the wire is behind everything else in the panel.  I see red/white/black wires, but no ground and I can't read the jacket.  Once I cut the main, i'll have a closer look. 



The gas range requires only a 15amp breaker. 

Can I simply replace the breaker with 15A and the 4 prong outlet with a Nema 5-15p?  I'd cap off both ends of the red wire.  Is there some sort of code that says I need to maintain the 40A circuit for a future stove?

Or is there some sort of transformer I can plug into the stove end and avoid all that hassel.  ?
      

Hello -



I'm attempting to install a new bathroom vent fan / light combo.  I pulled out the old one from the ceiling and am ready to install the new one.  I'm not sure how to wire up the new one.



The wire coming from the 2 Switches/Wall has the following 4 wires:  Black, White, Red, Bare Copper Ground



The wires coming from the Light/Fan Unit a

Light:  Black, White, Red

Fan:  Black, White

Fan/Light Housing:  Green Ground Wire



Any help would be appreciated.



Thanks!
      

I have a 30amp wall socket in my garage, connected to two 20amp fuses in my garage sub box. I bought a 60 gallon air compressor rated 230v 15amp (non-reversible???). I am under the impression that I can use this compressor with the socket I have. The compressor did not come with a plug but did have the wires. One red, one green, one white. The plug I bought to the match the socket has instructions for one black wire (hot) one green (ground) and one white (neutral) I guess my question is, would the red wire be my hot wire? Does everything else sound ok?
      

Finishing basement and have a few questions...



1. Have already bought recessed cans. Commercial Electric brand. I have now read a few places that these are junk. Why exactly and should I return them? Need to know know before I paint them black.



2. I plan on installing 12 lights on new 15A circuit using 2 switches one for left side of basement one for right (6 x 6). This is OK yes? Both switches will be in same box. And will be only thing on this new circuit.



3. Assuming I am running hot lead from main panel to switch box...there is no fancy wiring that needs to be done correct? 14/2 black to black, white to white except at switch correct?
      

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.
      

Hello everyone,I have a question about a forklift battery charger i bought. Ok,its an exide forklift battery charger 36 volts. It weighs a ton so i am having to run a 25 foot extension cord to it. My question is,my 220 wall outlet has three holes so i went to lowes and made a 220 extension cord. Now i get to the ac cable coming out of the charger that hooks to the extension cord(plug was cut off),there are 4 wires coming out of the cable green,white,red, and black......the guy at lowes said i could buy a 3 prong plug for it to plug into the female end of the extension cord because one of the 4 wires is probably neutral and i wouldnt have to hook up but the green,white and either the red or black.....is he right? Inside the charger the red,white and black all go to big fuses and green to ground. Also above the fuses it says "factory set to 480 volts ac". I guess my question is,will this charger only work using a 4 prong wall outlet(mine only has 3) and with 4 prong plug hooked to cable coming out of the charger itself or is the guy at lowes right in saying that only the red OR black wire has to be used? Sorry if this is confusing but ive searched and searched online for 3 days and havent found anything. Thanks in advance for any help-Kevin