replacing light switch question

[BigL]

My wife decided she wanted me to replace some light switches in the house to "better looking" ones. The house was built in 1998 but we just purchased it about a month ago so I know nothing about the wiring of the house. I'm also far from being an electrician and replacing light switches, plugs, and hooking up ceiling fans is usually the extent of my electrical tasks.

Anyway I thought it would be a fairly simple task to do today but looks like it's not as easy as I thought and I have no clue how to hook up the new single pole switch. When I removed the old switch it had 3 black wires coming from the box. All the white wires are capped together. Two black wires were inserted into the back of the old switch and another black was attached to a screw.

When I attached it to the new switch, I just matched top with top, bottom on bottom, and one on screw to the new one on screw and it didn't work. Any suggestions? I can take pics if needed.

[BolilloLoco]

There should be a wiring diagram on the box or in the instructions. Take a look at it before you start disconnecting anything and pay attention to the wiring diagram/labels on switch you are replacing. Since all wires are same and you already disconnected from first switch, you might need someone with more experience at this point. Good luck.

[hpdrifter]

Is it a 3 way; turn off on one switch and on at another or vice versa?

Do the two black wires into the holes go into holes that are real close together and more holes are spaced about where the other screw is? Is there another screw?

[Smokeater]

Might want to post up a pic of the old switch. Could be a 3-way.

[hpdrifter]

Just guessing those 2 wires were inserted into a "stab lock". Not really a good idea. If they were the "hots" that were supposed to be tied together, and you got them mixed up, either the light should be on all the time, and something down stream of the switch is turned on by the switch, or something downstream and the light should come on.

The whites are the neutrals and should be tied together, they just feed through.

[BigL]

There should be a wiring diagram on the box or in the instructions. Take a look at it before you start disconnecting anything and pay attention to the wiring diagram/labels on switch you are replacing. Since all wires are same and you already disconnected from first switch, you might need someone with more experience at this point. Good luck.

I kept them separate so was able to put back the way it was.

Is it a 3 way; turn off on one switch and on at another or vice versa?

Do the two black wires into the holes go into holes that are real close together and more holes are spaced about where the other screw is? Is there another screw?

Only controls the light in the kids bathroom that I know of.

Might want to post up a pic of the old switch. Could be a 3-way.

That's what I'm assuming, but I'm clueless. It shouldn't be a 3 way and should only control the light in the bathroom. Pic coming soon.

[Royal21973]

Take pics. Are you sure it was a single pole switch or a 3-way? Is it a hall light? If it get turned on in two different location it's a 3-way. If its a single pole switch then there should be one power, one sending power to another switch or plug and one switch leg. You got a voltmeter?

[Royal21973]

Do you notice a black wire smaller gauge? Like a 14 gauge instead of the 12 gauge? If so, more then likely thats going to be your switch leg to the light and that should be on one of the screws by it's self and put the other two together.

[BigL]

Pics of the switch. The only thing that I can tell this light switch controls is the light above the mirror in the bathroom. Plugs, etc in the room work whether the light is on or not.



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[Smokeater]

Your right, it's a sp. Looks like the second wire is supplying a hot to a plug somewhere. Sure you got em all put back in the same place?
If it's wired up now and the light ain't working, see if a close by plug is being operated by the switch. If so, switch the two. Be sure and i.d. the hot and keep it on the bottom of the switch.

[BigL]

Yea it's all put back in same place and the light is working fine. The problem is this is one of the switches that she wants to replace with a decorator style switch.

Hate to hire an electrician just to change out light switches... Anyone in the Austin area want to come show me? I have plenty of whiskey.

[bboswell]

Do you have a means to check which wire is hot? I assume you tripped a breaker to do this work, did you check to see that it is reset well? Is there a GFCI in line that could have tripped?

[RDT]

Can you post a pic of new switch

[WTucker]

A new single pole switch should wire up the same way whether it is standard or decora. Only thing I would change it to pigtail the two together and land the wires on screws instead of backstabbing.

[Tx.Fisher]

Get a tester. Only one of the three black wires are hot. The hot will go to the bottom screw. One of the other black wires is the runner to your light, and it will go on the top screw. The third black wire is getting a hot and going somewhere else, it it needs to be touching the hot source at all times. Don't touch the whites, they all stay together.

You really need a tester to determine what wire is hot. That's as simple as I can put it.