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    jimbob 1's Avatar
    jimbob 1 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Aug 30, 2014, 06:12 AM
    Why do my lights lights short out when I switch them off
    I swapped a light fixture in the kitchen and wired it like for like and when I switch the light off it trips the fuse what is the problem
    hkstroud's Avatar
    hkstroud Posts: 11,929, Reputation: 899
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    #2

    Aug 30, 2014, 08:16 AM
    wired it like for like
    I assume that means you connected all the white wires together and all the black wires together.


    Sounds like you probably have a switch loop. When you have a switch loop the white wire to the switch is used to take the power to the switch. The black wire is use to return power from the switch to the fixture. When you do this you are suppose to mark the white wire to the switch with a piece of black tape to designate it as a hot conductor rather than a neutral. However this is often not done.

    If you have a switch loop and you connected all the whites together and all the blacks together, the light will burn all the time.The breaker is tripping when you turn the switch on and creating a short circuit, not off.

    Describe the wiring in the ceiling box.
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