I'm replacing a light switch and had a wiring question. On the old switch some insulation on the hot wire was removed and looped around the screw on the light switch then the wire continued on to some other light switches. On my new light switch I cant get the wire on the screw like that.

It's fine to just cut the hot wire and connect both of them to the same terminal of the new switch right?

1/24/2019 8:21:17 PM

or you could put them both in a wire nut with a 3rd wire and run that one to the switch.

1/24/2019 10:35:13 PM

You can't do two wires to the same screw. If the hot leg continues off somewhere, do the wire nut thing NeuseRvrRat described. You'll have to do the same with the ground wires. You also have to make sure all hot wires are clearly marked at the switch and the light. They either have to have the correct jacket colors or you have to wrap them with the right color tape.

1/25/2019 10:19:59 AM

i figured the wire nut was the correct way to do it, i was just being lazy (when you start adding jumpers from the nuetral and now a jumper from the hot it's a real pita to fit smart switches into a standard box)

1/25/2019 10:37:11 AM

i like using these instead of wire nuts. used them when i wired my shop.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ideal-10-Piece-In-Sure-Push-In-Wire-Connector-Set-30-1391S/202911032

also, for grounds i just use the little bare copper sleeves instead of a wire nut. saves a little more space.

[Edited on January 25, 2019 at 1:16 PM. Reason : adsf]

1/25/2019 1:14:55 PM

all my lights were installed with those but for my new fixtures i just used wire nuts because those felt too much like push-in back-wiring outlets/switches you're always told to avoid

1/25/2019 2:09:31 PM

Fixed it and went ahead and just wired the outlet always on anyways, I just wanted a wired zigbee repeater and smart switch.

1 more room and all of the toggle switches are replaced with decorator style because that's important for reasons only women understand

1/26/2019 3:32:40 PM

you should be able to avoid the neutral connection to the switch by wiring to the ground conductor. They rewrote portions of the 2017NEC specifically for smart switches to allow use of the ground as the neutral for switch electronics.

1/30/2019 11:04:00 AM

[citation needed]

1/30/2019 5:27:07 PM

i think it's about this:
http://www.electricallicenserenewal.com/Electrical-Continuing-Education-Courses/NEC-Content.php?sectionID=301.0

interesting but I would still need a jumper from the ground so its no easier than a jumper from the neutral that i can tell

1/31/2019 9:48:42 AM

after rereading NEC402.2(C), that doesn't seem to apply in your case, since you do have the neutral accessible in the box. For switch boxes that don't have a neutral to them, connecting to the ground to energize the controls is acceptable.

The current draw on some of these new smart switches may be well above that of the older Zigbee and Zwave switches, to the point they're not safe to wire to the ground. I didn't realize how many companies are making these things now - Amazon is littered with them.

1/31/2019 12:20:25 PM