Typically when a ceiling fan is installed the red wire is most commonly used for the light and the black is commonly for the fan motor. This provides two alternate pathways for hot current to flow between the switchesthis is what allows the switches to turn the lights on and off in a flexible manner.
2 Switches 1 Light Large Size Of Wiring Diagram Inside Switch Light Switch Wiring Light Switch Installing A Light Switch
The switch simply cuts off the live current.

What is the red wire in a light switch. With that said this electrical tutorial presents a guide to identifying the switched live wire on a lighting circuit and also explains how to rewire a ceiling rose. The other terminal is marked as L1 and is the output to the light fixture. When you see a red wire in a light switch box it can mean two things.
Red Wire This wire is used for 3 or 4 way switches and will connect the switches together so they can each control your lights. Ground wires are either left bare or covered with green insulation. The red wire from the light is connected to the output on the switch and to the hot terminal on the light at the other end.
A live black wire a green or copper ground wire and a neutral white wire. The black and red wires are travelers and are connected to the traveler screw terminals on the two switches. If youre circuit is only one way you can ignore this terminal and it will still work.
Twist the two copper wires in the first box together and attach them to the ground nut on the switch. Red is used interchangeably with black to denote hot. Certain switch loop configurations require a three-conductor wire -- the extra wire is needed to complete the circuit at the switch.
When you have removed your existing fitting you will need to know which wires go to the switch. The blue and yellow wires in cable D and the black wire in cable C are switched lives and thus should be marked with red sheathing at each end as shown. Hopefully as explained above they will be labeled with either a piece of red tape on the black wire or a small red sleeve.
So the red wire is probably the one you want. Wiring color codes are standardized in North America. In this case youll see.
If you have no indication whatever. The two outlets in a duplex receptacle are bonded so that both can be powered by a single wire but its possible to break the bond and control just one of the receptacles with a switch. It could be there is or once was a three-way switch in play.
Black wires always signify the positive or hot leg of the current while white wires signify negative also called neutral or return. Important If you are replacing an existing switch make sure that you take not of how it is wired before you remove the existing wires. The cpc earth wire should connect to the switch faceplate terminal rather than the back box although connecting both is good practice.
The blue would usuallyhave been black but either way it should have a red sleeve to indicate thatits a switched L. It protects from static build up and from electrical insulation failure in short its only job is to make your home safer. Or it could be the red wire is the wire going to the fixture and the black wires are the live wires.
Normally youll see a red wire in places you would expect a ceiling fan. A red wire in an electrical outlet often indicates a second positive live wire. To find out more about multi-way configurations check out the support articles above in the Load Wire section.
Normallythe red goes to C or com. The bare hopefully solid copper wire is the ground. When installing the Brilliant Control in 3-way configurations the traveler wires will be installed in the wire holes labelled L1 and L2.
Generally electrical socket boxes come with three wires each of them colored differently. They are often a red or black wires. They connect the Brilliant Control to another multiway switch.
This is a diagram of a switch with a neutral. Source 2 comes in at the combo device where the hot and neutral wires are connected to their corresponding terminals on the receptacle half of the device. In most cases a red wire present in an electrical outlet means that a switch can operate the outlet.
These wires are only for multi-way configurations and always occur in pairs. With your light fitting flex they will be brown LIVE and blue NEUTRAL. This is because two way switches can also be used on one way circuits.
If you see a red wire spliced together with a black one in a 120-volt outlet its probably because the outlet is powered by a wall switch. The black hot connection is broken to turn the light onoff the white neutral connection completes the circuit. The Red Wire as a Spare Wire.
When youre wiring decorative light switches such as chrome or stainless steel etc youll find that the switch will also have an L2 terminal which means its a two way switch. Going out of both boxes and into your light fixture will be 143 wire which has a black wire hot a white wire neutral a red wire traveler and a bare copper wire ground. If this is what you see when you remove your wall plate you are a go for hardwired automated light switchs.
Two way switching using a 3 wire control shown in the old cable colours NOTE. But in places like a bathroom or a wall light if you see a red wire its a good bet that the red wire is the wire thats connected to the light switch. For detailed step-by-step instructions on completing this home project take a look.
If turning the switch off turns the wire off the red wire delivers power from the light. The common is for the live wire that supplies the input voltage to the switch. The red and black wire either side of the ceiling rose are coloured like this for clarity to show live and neutral.
If the wire still is hot the wire is a hot wire that delivers electrical power to the branch circuit. The red wire is most likely a spare wire that was intended to be used when wiring for a ceiling fan. 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.
Well cover the easier scenario first.
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