Ask Me Help Desk - Wiring question

I had an old fluorescent light with an outlet above my medicine cabinet. I replaced it but I had to put a rework box for the outlet. I got the light wired and working and have a question about wiring the outlet with I ran with 14/2 to the box where the light is mounted.
I tested the wires with an ac tester. One wire is hot{brown}when the switch is up and I have the neutral {white} that goes with it. The light works just fine when the switch is turned to on. There is one other wire that is hot all the time. I turned on the power and checked each wire to ground. One was not hot(brown} when the switch was down and I know the other has no current because while checking that wire to ground it had no current. What gets me is the other wire that is hot all the time is white. The other white wire is neutral.

When I wire the outlet would the black go to the Hot white and white to the neutral white. The ground from the 14/2 is on GFCI outlet but there is no ground in the box what would I do with that one to ground it.
Also when I pulled the switch cover I noticed they just stripped a portion off a wire(black) just enough to mount to the switch and then just continued on up another conduit. Is that still exceptable with today's wiring standards. The brown wire was there also on the switch by the black. I know the way they had the fixture up before did not meet code but back then in the 50's it must have been OK. Is more info needed?

Swich loops, because they consist of black and white wires, and the switch switches the hot wire, the white has to be reidentified as black. Only black and white wires should be available at the fixture. Not the recoded white. See 2 Lights 1 Switch - DIY Chatroom - DIY Home Improvement Forum Post #10.

Wires should wrap the screw.

Explain the GFCI issue a little better. I'm confused.

Having trouble following your post. Sounds like you wiring is in conduit. If you have a hot white wire in the light you should have a white wire connected the hot in the switch box. Nothing wrong with stripping back a section of insulation on a wire, using that bare section to connect to a switch and letting it continue on somewhere else. You must either have a ground wire in the switch box or the conduit must be being used as a ground. Likewise the light box. Therefore, you should be able to ground the GFI by connecting the ground wire to either the ground wire or the conduit.

Does this drawing look any like what you are trying to describe?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

Having trouble following your post. Sounds like you wiring is in conduit. If you have a hot white wire in the light you should have a white wire connected the hot in the switch box. Nothing wrong with stripping back a section of insulation on a wire, using that bare section to connect to a switch and letting it continue on somewhere else. You must either have a ground wire in the switch box or the conduit must be being used as a ground. Likewise the light box. Therefore, you should be able to ground the GFI by connecting the ground wire to either the ground wire or the conduit.

Does this drawing look any like what you are trying to describe?

The box above mirror has two conduits connected to it. The right conduit has the white neutral and a black wire coming out and going up the left conduit. The conduit to left has that black wire from the right conduit going strait up it plus the hot brown and the hot white wire. There is also an NM 14/2 coming in bottom of the box from the GFCI. Since the outlet is in the bathroom. The GFCI is wired in a rework box black wire connected to brass screw, white wire connected to silver screw and bare ground wire connected to green screw on bottom of receptor. This creates my original question how to wire the GFCI to get constant power to it?

The switch has two conduit black coming out right conduit looped on switch top right running back up the left conduit. Brown wire bottom left connected to switch running up right conduit.White wire running out right conduit strait up left conduit.

My problem is the rework box has the NM 14/2 connected to the GFCI and when it connects to the box above the mirror where the light is mounted. I'm not sure if the correct wiring would be the black NM wire to the white wire that is hot all the time(so there would be constant power regardless to if the switch is on) and then the white wire to the neutral white that I'm using for the light neutral white? Also does the bare ground wire need to be connected to anything in the box with the light. I have the light wired black to brown and white to white neutral in the box and the light fascia cover has a ground wire connected to the mounting plate on the box with a screw.

The thought comes to my mind why is there a white wire that is constant hot (that I can't explain) and if I connect to the constant hot white with the black from the GFCI how do I know that when I connect the white from the GFCI to the white neutral that I'm using for the light it will complete the circuit. I'm assuming that since I checked with an ac tester and when I connected that way it confirmed just like it did for the light connection but only the switch does not play in. By everything I see I can not confirm where that hot white wire is getting its power from?

I could not totally conform your drawing so I thought best just to give you all the information that I have and seeing what your response is to that.

Lastly you meant that if the ground wire is connected to the GFCI since I'm not in conduit I must connect in side the box where I'm getting power from? If so I would need to put a screw in the box to mount the ground wire?

Connect white to white and black to black. Assuming that the light box is metal there will be a screw hole in the back that will accept a green ground screw. Attach ground from GFI there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeepItSimpleStupid

Swich loops, because they consist of black and white wires, and the switch switches the hot wire, the white has to be reidentified as black. Only black and white wires should be available at the fixture. Not the recoded white. See 2 Lights 1 Switch - DIY Chatroom - DIY Home Improvement Forum Post #10.

Wires should wrap the screw.

Explain the GFCI issue a little better. I'm confused.

A ground fault circuit interrupter(GFCI) protects you against the kind of shocks that occur around water(Home improvement 1-2-3 "The Home Depot" New Edition.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hkstroud

Connect white to white and black to black. Assuming that the light box is metal there will be a screw hole in the back that will accept a green ground screw. Attach ground from GFI there.

Thanks, I got it together and everything was right.