A three way switch is different. If you change a light fixture and find a red wire in the electrical box chances are the black wire from the fixture needs to go to the red wire in the box.
Wiring A Control With 1 Black Wire One Red Wire And One White Wire Multilocation With A Pico
Red black white wires. The white red and black wires in an electric ac motor supply power to the motor itself and determine which of the speed coils turn on when electricity is supplied. If it doesnt work switch the lower wires. This wire is always on so make sure that there is no current when dealing directly with this one to avoid any injury. The white wire of the ceiling fan is the main neutral for both the light fixture and the fan motor. The colors regulated by the national electrical code in the united states are standardized for safety. Regardless of output setting power will be applied to this wire.
Normally youll see a red wire in places you would expect a ceiling fan. Electricians often use black red or blue wires to deliver electricity to a circuit from the main panel. In almost every motor design the white wire will be the neutral. White wires with black or red tape. Attach the black wire to the outlet you want to always be on usually the top one and the red wire to the switched outlet. The white wire is the neutral and all other colors are hot.
The different colors of electrical wires indicate the function of the wire with black and red indicating the wires carry electric current white usually indicating neutral charge and green indicating the wire is grounded. When measured with respect to the white neutral wire the red wire carries the same 120 volt current that the black one carries making the voltage across these two hot wires 240 volts. This is a typical wiring setup for a 3 way light switch with black white red and ground wires. This type of switch lets you turn the light off or on from more than one place in the room. One of the hot wires attaches to a brass terminal on one side of the outlet and the other attaches to a brass terminal on the other side. However a black wire can never be used as a neutral or ground wire or for any purpose other than to carry a live electrical load.
Being the main hot wire the primary function of the black wire is to provide current to the fans motor. Connect the white wire to either of the chrome screws remember they are still joined and the ground wire to the green ground screw. They may use other colors for. Hot when a white wire is augmented with a red or black color marking this often indicates that it is being used as a hot wire rather than a neutral wire. You can now screw the outlet to the box and proceed to the switch box. Typically this is indicated with a band of black or red electrical tape but other colors may be used wrapped around the wires insulation.
White wires augmented with red or black tape or markings are used as hot.
Gallery of Red Black White Wires
