Light switch that does nothing - how to trace wire?

[exranger06]

I have a light switch in my laundry room that does nothing. It had power connected to it, which I disconnected. Even with the switched leg disconnected, everything in my house works. I have tested literally every light and outlet. And yes, I'm aware of the tabs on outlets. I tested both top and bottom outlets and EVERYTHING works. It's not a 3 way switch, just a double pole. So whatever the switch controls, it's the only switch that controls it.

How can I trace this switched leg and find out where it goes? It's a 14/2 Nm-b, neutral is still connected, hot (switched) leg now disconnected.

I wouldn't be surprised if the wire went to some random light fixture or outlet box and was just capped off not connected to anything. I actually already ran into that once before in this house. It was a 4 gang box next to front door, 4 switches - 3 switches control lights, 4th didn't do anything. The switch was connected right to the feed, then there was a 14/3 with the black also connected right to the feed. The red wire in the 14/3 was the switched leg. Found out the other end of the 14/3 went to the crawl space under the stairs to a junction box. Box just had the doorbell transformer on it, black wire was feeding it, red wire was capped off, doing nothing.

This laundry room switch is harder to figure out though. Is there a tool I can buy that would make tracing the wire easy?

 

[exranger06]

I should also add that due to the layout of the house, I can't imagine what the switch controls that would make any sense. Even if it did control a light or outlet in another room, it wouldn't make any sense. It'd be like having a switch in the garage that controlled the kitchen lights.

 

[My Old Tools]

Ever see 'Married with children'. Check the dog house . I have two switches in the back of my hall closet. I finally figured out they control plugs in the eaves outside for Christmas lighting.

 

[checkthisout]

I should also add that due to the layout of the house, I can't imagine what the switch controls that would make any sense. Even if it did control a light or outlet in another room, it wouldn't make any sense. It'd be like having a switch in the garage that controlled the kitchen lights.

An outside box? Wire going out into the yard somewhere for a yard light that you haven't raked up yet?

If previous owners aren't dead, call them up and ask.

 

[exranger06]

No outside boxes, all outside outlets have been accounted for. No yard lights whatsoever.

 

[LB-1911]

Could there have been a dryer duct fan installed at one time?

http://www.tjernlund.com/dryer_booster.htm

 

[exranger06]

Could there have been a dryer duct fan installed at one time?

http://www.tjernlund.com/dryer_booster.htm

Not likely. The washer and dryer are against an outside wall. The dryer hose goes right out that wall; it's a very short hose.

 

[exranger06]

I'm not really asking "what does this switch control?" Because like I said, it's likely just capped off somewhere. What I would really like to know is if there's an easy way to trace it.

 

[turbowoodworker]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=322233

I just saw this thread three pages in to today's posts. May be helpful to you.

 

[CoogarXR]

I have used data wire toners to find romex in the walls. Just clip one alligator clip on the hot (obviously make sure it's not energized). Then wave the wand over the wall and listen for the faint tone. There probably is a better way, but that's how I have done it. You could also try to figure out which way the wire goes, up or down, then look in you attic or basement and see where the wire runs.

 

[APEowner]

I have used data wire toners to find romex in the walls. Just clip one alligator clip on the hot (obviously make sure it's not energized). Then wave the wand over the wall and listen for the faint tone. There probably is a better way, but that's how I have done it. You could also try to figure out which way the wire goes, up or down, then look in you attic or basement and see where the wire runs.

I've used this technique as well.

 

[Professur]

A tone generator is cheaper and quicker than breaking the drywall to follow it. But ... a tone generator will light up the entire wire for it's entire length. That means if there's outlets and stuff on either side of that connection, they'll all light up too. Data wiring is one piece, end to end. Power wiring is like a tree branch.

 

[ctfjr]

When I wired my house I had a 'spare' switch left by the front door in a multigang box. The wires were brought down into the basement for possible outdoor lights. Hmmm 28 yrs later. . .

 

[Justin James]

Is there an attic access in your laundry room?

 

[Richard Cranium]

My attic and my crawl space both has lights in them.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Ever see 'Married with children'. Check the dog house . I have two switches in the back of my hall closet. I finally figured out they control plugs in the eaves outside for Christmas lighting.

Did the far guy ever get out of the wall?

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Cap the wires and put a blank cover on it.

 

[CJ7VFR]

Can you use the switch to put a new light or switched outlet in the laundry room? Maybe you can put up a light or an outlet exactly where you/your wife wants one and use the switch for that.

Homes that have had previous owners will always have some things in them that new owners find and think, why the hell did they do that?

Then the new owners add more things, and then years later they sell the place, and the next owners find their things and think, what the hell is that for?

I know you want to find out where those wires are going, but if you don't, don't think about it too much. Either re-use the switch for something you want, or as others have suggested, remove the switch, cap off the wires, and put a blank cover over the wall box. And on the back of the blank cover write, "I have no idea what this is for" and put the date on it. Then the next people who will own your home will think what the hell was this for!!

It is these little findings that make owning an older home so interesting!

Jim

 

[exranger06]

Is there an attic access in your laundry room?

No, laundry room is in the basement. The kitchen is above it. The whole basement is finished, except for the utility room where the boiler and water equipment is. The mystery wire doesn't go into that room.

The mystery switch is in a 2 gang box with 2 switches. One switch is for the lights in the laundry room, the other of course does nothing.

 

[My Old Tools]

Ceiling fan. Probably goes to the same box the light fixture is in so you can take down the light, put up a ceiling fan/light, and control the light and fan portions independently.

 

[BaMaDuDe87]

Ceiling fan. Probably goes to the same box the light fixture is in so you can take down the light, put up a ceiling fan/light, and control the light and fan portions independently.

I'd have to go with this as well

 

[exranger06]

Ceiling fan. Probably goes to the same box the light fixture is in so you can take down the light, put up a ceiling fan/light, and control the light and fan portions independently.

A ceiling fan in a laundry room that's the size of a large closet? I don't think so. Also, the laundry room lights consist of two recessed cans. The rest of the finished basement also has recessed cans for lighting, and a ceiling that's too low for a fan. It also wouldn't make any sense to have the switch in the laundry room instead of the main area of the basement. Like I said, having a switch here just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Hawk]

Could the old owners have possibly had a darkroom with one of the switches for a red light.

 

[Short Round]

I have one of those by my front door/stair landing. 3 gang of switches, 2 are accounted for, one is the stairway light, the other lights a front room off the stair landing, the other I wonder if it was intended for the other front room but they instead wired into a 2 gang box that does the porch light and the other front room. [shrugs]

So many "what the h were they thinking wiring this place". It's an open floor plan and some post and beam construction so I get that there were some compromises but some have no good reason.

I'm not a good planner. My brother is the electrical planner. He did commercial electrical work for 15 years before jumping over to the power company.

ETA- All the bedrooms had a defunct switch but I know what they were for, they were for the ceiling fans that were not yet installed. I did put one in the master bedroom and it was nice to have it already wired. I didn't like the way they did the switches though. Two gang box in each room with a single switch next to a double switch. All of the switches randomly wired it seems. One for the room light, a second for the closet light, and the third for the fan but each room has the switches differently wired. I hate that and will remedy that.

 

[exranger06]

Well, mystery solved! I used a non-contact voltage tester to trace the wire in the wall, made a few small holes in the wall, and found the end of it. As I thought, it was not connected to anything. It didn't even terminate in a box. The end of the wire was just hanging loose in the wall. I attached a picture that shows the end of the wire on the left, and the switch box on the adjacent wall on the right.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Well, mystery solved! I used a non-contact voltage tester to trace the wire in the wall, made a few small holes in the wall, and found the end of it. As I thought, it was not connected to anything. It didn't even terminate in a box. The end of the wire was just hanging loose in the wall. I attached a picture that shows the end of the wire on the left, and the switch boxes on the adjacent wall on the right.

Facepalm!!!

Typical hack job to bury a wire in the wall. Put an old work box in and put a cover plate on it.

 

[Beemer533]

Wall sconce someone forgot to install? Lol...

 

[CoogarXR]

So that must have been the vanity mirror light to match the sink that was planned in your "what are these pipes for?" thread.

 

[MoonRise]

Well, mystery solved! I used a non-contact voltage tester to trace the wire in the wall, made a few small holes in the wall, and found the end of it. As I thought, it was not connected to anything. It didn't even terminate in a box. The end of the wire was just hanging loose in the wall. I attached a picture that shows the end of the wire on the left, and the switch boxes on the adjacent wall on the right.

Facepalm!!!

Typical hack job to bury a wire in the wall. Put an old work box in and put a cover plate on it.

No, no, no.

You have to wire that end of the switched NM-B to one of:

- a ceiling fan

- a red light somewhere

- a light in the dog house

Or all three daisy-chained off of that switch leg.

Glad you solved the mystery. Definitely at least put the 'end' of the cable into an electrical old-work box (as mentioned ) and maybe put a receptacle in the box if that even sort of makes sense for the location.

Just be really thankful that the bare 'floating' (or maybe more correctly 'flopping') cable with the stripped ends didn't short out inside the wall cavity. Could have been a fire, or a whole bunch more hair pulling trying to figure out why that one breaker keeps tripping whenever you flipped the wall switch to "ON". At least until either the wire ends arced enough to separate enough to no longer arc, or a fire started in the wall cavity.

 

[exranger06]

I believe it is a wall sconce or vanity light that was forgotten about. Vanity light makes sense, since plumbing for a sink was roughed in right underneath. But the sink/vanity was never installed either.

The plan is to install an old work box and install a GFCI receptacle in it. The switch will be eliminated so the receptacle is always hot.