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cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 08:29 AM

Sorry!! :D
Wrong category. :o

This is mighty dump of me to begin with. I was switching my two switches left to right and the metal part of the switch touched the positive screw. :eek: Yes. I did not switch off the circuit breaker. :p I thought it was no big deal because I was just flipping them around without doing anything else to it. I was, wearing a thick glove tough.

Anyhow! Turned the circuit breaker back on and the light works. But, the circuit trips every time I turn the light switch off. :mad:
Anyone have any idea? :p

Thanks in advance!!

cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 09:22 AM

This was mighty dump of me to begin with. :D I was switching my two switches left to right and the metal part of the switch touched the positive screw. :eek: Yes. I did not switch off the circuit breaker. :p I thought it was no big deal because I was just flipping them around without doing anything else to it. I was wearing a thick glove though.

Anyhow! Turned the circuit breaker back on and the light works. But, the circuit breaker trips every time I turn the light switch off. :mad:
Anyone have any ideas? :confused:

Thanks in advance!! :)

Stratmando · Oct 30, 2007, 10:48 AM

Shorting usually occurs when turning on, not Off. First thought is someone installed a three way switch in place of single pole switch. Not a problem, If I don't have Single pole switch on truck, I use three way switch to save time. However, when you turn off, it may supply power to unused screw, and if at ground potential, it will short when turning Off.

cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 11:22 AM

It is a three way switch. I was just a knob head that's all that made the edge of the ground touch the positive which trips the circuit breaker. After that, every time I turned off the light switch, the circuit breaker trips too. You think I might have fried something else? '_'

Thanks!!

KISS · Oct 30, 2007, 11:53 AM

DEF:

Pole: The number of distinct things that are switched, the common terminals
SP, Single Pole, 1 terminal switched
DP Douple Pole, 2 terminals switched
3P, 3 terminals switched
4p, 4 terminals switched

ST, single throw; two terminals total
An SPST toggle/slide switch is a Single Pole Single Throw switch with
Two terminals total
A more concise way to write this is Off-None-On.
An SPDT momentary toggle/slide switch is Off-None-(On)

A 3PDT switch with the two ends momentary and the center off is (ON)-OFF-(ON)
This would have 9 total terminals on the switch.

You can concisely describe the switch in the latter notation, but nevertheless the other notation is still with us.

Relays are best described by a "Form X contacts". See WikiAnswers - What is form C contact

The -NO and -NC are Normally Open and Normally Closed respectively.

cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 12:05 PM

Thank yOu KeepItSimple! I'm beginning to understand it now.

Does anyone else have a simple way to fix this problem? Should I buy a new switch?

labman · Oct 30, 2007, 12:35 PM

The unused screw or a wire attached to it is touching something grounded, perhaps the ground wire. If there is a wire connected to it, disconnect it. If a bare wire is touching it, bend it out of the way. Going and buying a SPST would also solve the problem, but you don't need to.

icecream · Oct 30, 2007, 12:45 PM

I would advice to leave the breaker off. Take off the cover plats and look at the wiring. See if you can find a loose connection, burnt markings on the wire or the side of the switch.

Just for the record I'm not an electrical expert and I'm sure someone with more experience will come around and answer your question more thoroughly :D

KISS · Oct 30, 2007, 12:48 PM

Switches have a slotted hole and you can move it from side to side to compensate for things not being quite level and to get the edges from hitting the side of the box.

Make sure all the unused screws are screwed in tightly.

Wirenuts, where the insulation of the wires has been stripped too far are another possibility.

Pull the switch out of the box and use it carefully. I'll bet it won't trip.

cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 12:54 PM

That makes a lot of sense. I will look at it carefully tonight. Thank you so much guys for taking the time to help out others who are in need.
I appreciate all the comments!

Many blesses and lots of warm noodle for everyone in the cold winter!!

cupnoodle · Oct 30, 2007, 03:07 PM

LOL Yeah, I guess I didn't check it that well before I put it back together. I should have done that. I will check that tonight. Thank you icecream man!!

Stratmando · Oct 30, 2007, 03:46 PM

If you read this before working on it, I would turn off power, pull switches from the wall, leave wires connected, Take a good look, turn on breaker and try. If it doesn't trip, carefully reassemble. Try again. If it still trips, check for bare spot on wire.

tkrussell · Oct 30, 2007, 04:53 PM

Wrapping tape around device terminals help prevent this situation.

Be sure to locate the short, any wire or terminal will be burnt and melted and may need replacement or repair. This damage will get worse and cause other problems.

cupnoodle · Oct 31, 2007, 06:59 AM

I took it apart again to see if the wires were touching each other. It was a bad wire stripping job. The ground wire was touching or close to touching the exposed wire very slightly which caused the circuit to trip. Thanks again everyone for your help!