Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...

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Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...

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Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2017-01-03 05:04:49
... And indeed, it is an old house. In many of these, there is a single black, and a single white wire in the wall - In many of these older houses, the ground is the metal box and the BX cable that connects. The wiring is an actual switch between the power (black wire) and the neutral (white wire), where the power goes from the wire through the switch, out the white wire to the light, and then back through the rest of the wiring. It really is a typical setup in pre-WWII homes, and many post WWII homes. And therein lies the problem. I get power to the switch (the lights go on and blink., the little circle on the switch illuminates, and I can hear the relay kicking on and off - but no power is getting through to my overhead light. I've tried it with both of the black wires from the HS200 to my live power line, then each black wire individually, with the same result. The app finds the device, and shows the on/off switch exists - I can even name it- but otherwise, nothing. Any suggestions?
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#1
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15 Reply
same issue
2017-01-04 10:17:12
did you get any help I have the same setup in my outlet. only 1 black/live 1 ground and 1 neutral . what do we do with the extra black wire on the unit . I called cutomer service somewhere in asia . and was told to twist the black wires together and she wuld send me a diagram to help install . but diagram clearly says do not twist both live and load together
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#2
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2017-01-04 10:24:32
I'm having same issue. need help please . phone support was no help
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#3
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2017-01-04 16:53:50
I spent about 20 minutes on a live chat session with "Dora" from tech support, who insisted that each of the black wires needs to draw power from a separate source, because one wire controls the light,and the other controls the relay. She neither provided or offered to provide a wiring diagram, or a schematic for the switch, and told me flat out that the HS-200 would not work in my house. I was not impressed with my sole encounter with TP-Link tech support. The circular explanation that it wouldn't work because each wire needed a distinct source made no sense, even as she denied that the switch used two parallel circuits. I just got an RMA from Amazon, and I'm returning the switch. I'll look at smart switches at Home Depot and Lowes later in the week. Basically, I'm wondering who designed the silly thing and insists that most wall switches have two live wires, a neutral, and a ground wire in them. I've only seen that in double gang switches, never in a single gang box - and it certainly isn't shown that way in any of the myriad home improvement books I own. -Kurt
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#4
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2017-01-09 05:35:29
http://community.wemo.com/t5/WEMO-Application/only-have-one-white-and-one-black-wire-coming-out-of-wall/m-p/23466I just purchased a WeMo switch and had the same problem (I came here to see if TP Link would support my current wiring or a 3 way switch).

However, I did eventually get this working. Following a suggestion from a member in a thread on WeMo's support forums, I wired as follows:

1st black from the switch to wall black wire
2nd black from the switch (on the WeMo there is a picture of a lightning bolt above the 2nd wire, not sure about on the TP-Link) to wall white wire
White and green wires from the switch to wall ground wire(s) (green or bare copper)

I do not know the repercussions of installing the switch like this, as I have zero electrical knowledge. My husband tried for an evening and couldn't get it working without running a new neutral wire, I did a little research, tried the above method, and had it working in 5 minutes. So far, so good.

Here are links to two of the resources I used:
http://community.wemo.com/t5/WEMO-Hardware/WeMo-Light-Switch-Installation-Problems/td-p/1970
http://community.wemo.com/t5/WEMO-Application/only-have-one-white-and-one-black-wire-coming-out-of-wall/m-p/23466

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#5
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2019-07-31 10:56:35 - last edited 2019-07-31 10:58:24

The circular explanation that it wouldn't work because each wire needed a distinct source made no sense, even as she denied that the switch used two parallel circuits. You can get all home improvement products from myLowelife. its my favorite store. . I've only seen that in double gang switches, never in a single gang box - and it certainly isn't shown that way in any of the myriad home improvement books I own. -Kurt

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#6
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2020-02-26 06:45:01

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#11
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2020-04-18 18:07:05 - last edited 2020-04-18 18:07:34

@mylowes 

Using the ground as a neutral can hurt/kill someone if they remove the ground at the breaker pannel.

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#14
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2020-05-05 20:35:00
Who are these trolls advertising their lowlife website while trying to kill people.
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#15
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2020-05-31 18:06:27
Thank you!
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#16
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Re:Old house, 1 black/ one white wire...
2021-03-03 05:56:06

@mylowes the white and green should never be put together. it is extremely dangerous!!!

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#17
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