Electrical Question

[BizCT]

Try resetting the breaker if trips when you turn on the switch keep the switch off turn the breaker back on. Keep the switch off till you get it looked at. You also said you had two tv's on the same circuit you may be drawing to many amp's. With both tv's on and what ever else is on the line I bet it's a 15amp line. I bet that's what it is. you are drawing to many amp's

Neither TV is on this 4 switch gang plate. But they are on the garage breaker circuit switch. But again, no issue for years until I replaced one switch. Maybe I did something wrong. It tripped when I wasn’t home, no TV’s on etc. is it possible when I wired this switch and pushed it back into wall it was touching something in there it shouldn’t be? Causing that brown paper like explosion or whatever happened? Guess electrician will answer this all for me.


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[sodfather]

No if you wired the switch wrong it wouldn’t work from the get go not a week later. I’m telling ya I’d bet the $100 I owe ya on moisture with the pole or socket on the pole or an exterior outlet that’s tied on with that breaker 

[chas0218]

On 12/15/2017 at 10:04 PM, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

The light switch is inside but controls an outdoor lamppost. It goes on at 430pm and off at midnight. Worked fine all week until today. So Im guessing when timer kicked it on at 430 it sparked and breaker flipped. We did get snow today, so is it possible the outdoor lamppost got wet and the spark came all the way back into house?


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Can you take a picture of the breaker? Is there any exterior outlets on the post or somewhere between the switch and post? If it is a GFI breaker and you have a little moisture at the pole it will trip really easy.

Edited December 18, 2017 by chas0218

[BizCT]

When u guys say pole are you talking inside my house?

The gang plate has 4 switches.

One is the timer switch that controls outside lamppost- I was running it on at 430pm off at midnight each day. This is the one I replaced a week prior and Believe is the issue.

The 2nd switch is same type of timer controlling outdoor chandelier above my front door. I did not replace this switch.

3rd switch is a dimmer switch that controls my inside entryway chandelier.

4th switch is regular on/off and controls my light down the steps on bottom level near garage door inside house. Oddly, this switch is not on the same breaker switch in the garage circuit breaker box.

So are u guys thinking moisture got into wiring outside at lamp post?


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[BizCT]

Btw, I have not tried rewiring the timer and trying it again. Once I saw that brown paper stuff in there I got nervous thinking something sparked.

 

 

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[chas0218]

24 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

Btw, I have not tried rewiring the timer and trying it again. Once I saw that brown paper stuff in there I got nervous thinking something sparked.

 

 

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Shut the breaker off.

Wire the leads on the switch together to by pass the switch

Turn breaker back on, if breaker pops immediately either you didn't wire it right or there is moisture at the lamp post. if it doesn't pop go to next step

Go up and see if the lamp post turned on If it is on then I would imagine your switch is shot.

[CoffeeBoy]

The brown paper is just a covering on the individual conductors in the cable. Nothing to worry about. If there was an "explosion " in that box, it would be black and singed.

Moisture in lamp post is most likely cause.

Wire nut the wires together, turn the breaker on, if it holds and the lamp post is lit, try re-installing the switch.

Could also just be an old breaker. They don't last forever.

I've been an electrician for most of my adult life.

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[dbHunterNY]

i'm with SOD. also you may have in advertently connected up too much load to that timer. unless the outside light posts are LED lighting you might have them and something else connected. also if something else like a pool pump or air compressor in the garage is running on that same circuit it can cause a problem for electronic control switches like the one you put in. load on the circuit like those create electrical "noise" which can damage the switch electronics. it's more than likely moisture from snow and everything that got in somewhere it shouldn't. that causes a brief short that trips the breaker inside. maybe a gasket on something outside is bad. when YOU wire something using wire nuts you should still use electrical tape to wrap the outside of the nut/wire and make sure the wires are insulated from each other.

[BizCT]

The brown paper is just a covering on the individual conductors in the cable. Nothing to worry about. If there was an "explosion " in that box, it would be black and singed.

Moisture in lamp post is most likely cause.

Wire nut the wires together, turn the breaker on, if it holds and the lamp post is lit, try re-installing the switch.

Could also just be an old breaker. They don't last forever.

I've been an electrician for most of my adult life.

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So the breaker has been off since I unwired switch. Are you saying to wire nut together the black and red without the switch? I have them both capped off with wire nuts right now but not together. They should be together before flipping breaker on?


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[chas0218]

7 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

So the breaker has been off since I unwired switch. Are you saying to wire nut together the black and red without the switch? I have them both capped off with wire nuts right now but not together. They should be together before flipping breaker on?


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Was the red and black what was wired to the back of the switch? If so then yes wire nut them together. 

[CoffeeBoy]

Yes, all the switch does is interrupt the circuit. Put them under one wire nut, make sure it's tight and turn the breaker on. The lamp post should be lit.


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[BizCT]

35 minutes ago, chas0218 said:

Was the red and black what was wired to the back of the switch? If so then yes wire nut them together. 

Yes, but not together. The switch has 3 (C, 1, and 2). I followed the instructions and did 2 of to 1 in the socket and 1 to the other in the socket.

[CoffeeBoy]

C is the common, should be connected to the white wires in the box. 1 is the supply (the red or black should be wire nutted to a group that feeds all or some of the switches in that box) 2 is the switch leg (probably leaves that box on its own separate cable)

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[BizCT]

6 minutes ago, CoffeeBoy said:

C is the common, should be connected to the white wires in the box. 1 is the supply (the red or black should be wire nutted to a group that feeds all or some of the switches in that box) 2 is the switch leg (probably leaves that box on its own separate cable)

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No white wire in the wall, so I bought a switch that had no neutral wire (like the old one I replaced).

[CoffeeBoy]

Hopefully that does the trick and saves you from paying an electrician $100 just to pull into the driveway on a Saturday.

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[bkln]

Hey Biz, you didn't do any work in Atlanta airport yesterday by any chance, did ya? :-) ..... Just kidding...

[BizCT]

Hopefully that does the trick and saves you from paying an electrician $100 just to pull into the driveway on a Saturday.

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No. I Meant i bought the correct switch the first time. You want to come by for $100? I have two small outside jobs that need to be done also.


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[CoffeeBoy]

The $100 is just the "diagnostic fee" Lol....if I was closer I'd check it out for ya for free.

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[BizCT]

The $100 is just the "diagnostic fee" Lol....if I was closer I'd check it out for ya for free.

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Usually around me it seems to be $150-$175 as a charge for the first hour. Never really had one going longer than an hour


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[BizCT]

Btw, why put the two wires together and put wire nut? Why not leave separate until electrician comes?


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[CoffeeBoy]

Only reason would be to see of the lamp post is what's causing the breaker to trip. As long as they are capped and tucked neatly into the box, you can turn the breaker back on and have use of your tv's and whatever else is on that circuit until an electrician gets there....bonus if the breaker trips again while the wires are separated and capped, you'll know it wasn't the lamppost that tripped it

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[BizCT]

Only reason would be to see of the lamp post is what's causing the breaker to trip. As long as they are capped and tucked neatly into the box, you can turn the breaker back on and have use of your tv's and whatever else is on that circuit until an electrician gets there....bonus if the breaker trips again while the wires are separated and capped, you'll know it wasn't the lamppost that tripped it

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Got it, thx.


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[BizCT]

So I have zero patience and probably won’t get an electrician here till after new year. So I rewired everything and lamppost turned on but the switch is blank screen so I assume it’s shot from when it tripped? I guess I’ll get a new switch and try again. For now, the lamppost will be on 24/7 I guess.

 

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[Steve D]

Might want to check and make sure you bought  the correct amperage switch. It is not uncommon to find switches that look the same in 15 or 20 amp. configurations.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Steve D

[BizCT]

So I Bought a new switch at HD that is no neutral required. However, it has 4 wires. It says to attach 2 to the box, cap 1 one and then I’m left with the green ground wire which it says to attach to grounding screw. But my gangplate box doesn’t have this screw and previous switch didn’t need. Is it possible to use this switch or not? Can I just cap the green also and not connect to anything?


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