Turn on the power and test the switch. The bare hopefully solid copper wire is the ground.
How To Wire A 4 Way Switch
Light switch white wire. This type of switch lets you turn the light off or on from more than one place in the room. First of all we should connect the ground wires to the box. The white wire is always neutral and when the cable has only two conductors as most 120 volt cables do the hot wire is black. This is a typical wiring setup for a 3 way light switch with black white red and ground wires. Why white wires are sometimes used for light switches at times we still find in some older homes that white wires are used for wiring light switches and the light switch wiring method is different however we also find white wires being used today for wiring light switches however the method is entirely different. A single pole single throw switch such as a light switch.
The hot wire in a 120 volt residential ac circuit usually is coated with black insulation while the return or neutral wire is white. If there is a white wire connected to the switch this is likely the switch leg. At the light the white wire connects to the neutral terminal and the black wire connects to the hot. Push the switch into the box and secure it with screws at the top and bottom. The neutral wire from the source is spliced to the white cable wire and continues on to the light. Wiring two switches for two lights here two switches are wired in the same box to control two separate lights.
Steps for wiring a 3 way light switch. Assuming it is a steel box. If not add a band of tape to the white wire. Installing a 3 way light switch is a much more involved process than installing a single pole light switch. The ground wire is usually left bare but in some cases the ground wire color is green. According to standards in use since the mid 1900s a wire color code identifies the purpose of each wire in an electrical circuit.
It should be labeled as hot with a band of electrical tape so it is not confused with a neutral wire. Wiring a light switch with the power coming to the switch and then going to the lights you will notice that there are two black wires two white wires and two ground wires bare wires. A three way switch is different. It protects from static build up and from electrical insulation failure in short its only job is to make your home safer. Hook the white wire to the top terminal on the switch. At the light fixture the white wire connects to the fixture neutral white wires or neutral terminal and the black wire connects to the fixture live black wires or hot terminal terminals are found on basic fixtures such as keyless lampholders.
If it doesnt work switch the lower wires. The black hot connection is broken to turn the light onoff the white neutral connection completes the circuit.
Gallery of Light Switch White Wire
