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Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?

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Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?
Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?
2020-10-25 02:01:26
Model: HS220  
Hardware Version:
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Hi,

 

I'm trying to check if I have a neutral wire or not but the wiring is more complicated than I thought because the switch I want to replace is part of the 3 gang light switch. The switch I want to replace is the one in the middle with a black and yellow wire attached to the switch, then another black wire connecting the middle switch to the switch on the right. There are a bundle of wires at the back (green) three coming from from each of the top nodes and one from the bottom right that are bundled together. I'm not sure if those are neutral wires or not.

 

Questions: 

1. Do I have a neutral wire?

2. What is the black wire connecting to the right switch doing? I don't use the right switch for anything so can I just disconnect that black wire?

3. I wonder if I even have enough space in the electrical box for the new light switch since there is that cylindrical piece keeping the wires together at the top. Is there any solution?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

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Re:Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?
2020-10-25 16:56:53
Neutral is that white bundle still inside the box. The black is daisy-chained to provide power to the next switch. If the switch is unused you could disconnect it, though it probably would make more sense to keep it wired in. Sorry, no idea about the fit.
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Re:Do I have a neutral wire? + electrical box too small?
2020-11-02 16:11:23

@Sea 

 

Wow, that is some complex wire colours! Usually home electrical cabling are Black (hot), White (neutral) and Green (ground). Sometimes there is also a Red which is either a second hot circuit coming from the panel, or used between two 3-way switches to add another Traveler.

 

A couple of observations from your pics. If the green cables bundled together in the Marrette at the back are also connected to the box screw in the back left (looks like it), then those cables are Ground (which is good from a safety point of view, and good use of colour).

 

The downside is those cables are not neutral. Usually if there are neutral cables in a box, they too are bundled together in a Marrette.Certainly none of the cables connected to the switches are neutral. Some of the cables that seem to loop between one entry and another could be neutrals, but there's no slack to access them and troubleshoot what they are.

 

Regarding depth, those cylindrical entry posts are quite big and likely in the way of anything deep. And from my experience, all smart switches from various brands are deep. There are some smart light switches and dimmers that do not require a neutral wire, but I think they are still too deep to go in that box. So it doesn't look like you can put a smart switch in there.

 

How old is your house?

 

Cheers,

Rick

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