Shop lights don't work now?
- Thread starter 930dreamer
- Start date
dave*99
Well-known member
It was bright for a few seconds.
kbuhagiar
Well-known member
Can you show us a picture of the business end of that scorch mark?
OP
dave*99
Well-known member
What are the 2 tiny wires bent over near the top screw in the yoke?
That’s a lot of wire for a small box with a device. I’d use a 4x4.
That’s a lot of wire for a small box with a device. I’d use a 4x4.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
That's the proverbial 10 pounds of **** in an eight pound box. Unless you cut the top screw off, it hit the connector. It could have deflected down and into the wires. It's been over an hour so I'm sure that by now you know what happened so fess up. The suspense is killing me.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Did it happen after you borrowed something?
OP
Upper right or lower left from the burn mark, I'll go with upper right.
Attachments
ny
Anytime someone gets a hankering to use those damn handy boxes, I suggest putting their hands flat on a anvil & have someone smack each finger 10 times with a hammer, after that & still think it's a good idea to use them, then go ahead. My point is it is almost never a good idea to use them.
dave*99
Well-known member
Easy fix. Just use a box extender
sparky 1971
Well-known member
I once had almost a full case of not so handy boxes given to me by someone who really thought he was helping me out. They went straight in the dumpster when I got to the shop. I keep a couple of 2-1/8" deep handy boxes on my truck for the rare occasion nothing else will work.
Getting rid of them is good but I cringe because don't like to throw metal in the trash, (I don't even throw tin food cans in the trash & don't hoard them either).
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
is your lighting 277v? if not you can 86 that fat switch and get a skinnier one.
walta
Well-known member
At this moment the lights do not work, correct?
Let’s stop fixating on the burn mark and diagnose the fault.
Get out the meter and measure the voltage between the screws on the switch in the on and off position.
It is possible the burn mark was preexisting.
Walta
Let’s stop fixating on the burn mark and diagnose the fault.
Get out the meter and measure the voltage between the screws on the switch in the on and off position.
It is possible the burn mark was preexisting.
Walta
Last edited:
sparky 1971
Well-known member
It's more than likely that the cause of the burn mark is the same reason the lights quit working. There are at least three 12/2 romex cables as well as a commercial switch stuffed into a box that barely fits a single 12/2 and a residential switch. We haven't been told, but my money is on something shorting out against the box and tripping the breaker. He probably cleared the short and reset the breaker and now all is well.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
With three 12/2's in there, I'd 86 the box and replace it with a 1900 box and a raised cover. I don't care for the look of a single toggle switch in a 4X4, so if it were mine, I'd probably make it a switch/receptacle combo. I know it should be a GFCI, but everyone reading this gets the idea and could make their own decision about whether or not to follow the rules.
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sparky 1971
Well-known member
It might have happened after I went there to get back my linesman pliers he borrowed and didn't return.
OP
Breaker isn't tripped, had a buyer at the shop so didn't have time to look much more.
sparky 1971
Well-known member
Are the lights running through a GFCI? Also, and I'm not saying this the case at all, but I've missed many tripped breakers during the visual inspection because the handle doesn't move very far. It's when I'm running through each breaker and find a dead one that I take a second look and sure enough, that handle is just a little different than the rest of them in the panel.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
What is upstream of this switch?
Uncle murph
Well-known member
I am not alone!Bottle caps,nails,hacksaw blades,everything metal goes in the metal can.
whateg01
Well-known member
They make great ends for extension cords
Not code compliant, they are not good for much.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
the knockouts on the sides make them non code compliant
OP
OP
Two high bay UFO lights and a receptacle.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
You can use a 20a switch on anything up to 20a. Send it
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
you dont need a 20a switch for a 20a circuit if the load is less than 12a
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
so you have lights and a receptacle ahead of the switch?
OP
Circuit has switch, ufo's, receptacle.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Im referring to whats on the line side of the switch not the load side.
OP
Two security lights (they work) are on the circuit also.
OP
They look ok, wires pulled right out of them!
OP
Shop lights work again.
Innovate1
Well-known member
The tiny wires are a spring wire to retain the screw. Fairly common and nothing to do with the issue.
dave*99
Well-known member
While they do retain the screw, they are likely the mechanism for self grounding the yoke.