Fix-It Friday is an occasional series that details the projects I’ve done around the house. Check out some past posts here and here.
Our still-new-to-us home is 60 years old — and that also means the electric is ALSO six decades old. So when one of the light switches stopped switching, I knew it was going to be an adventure replacing it. I bought three new switches and got to it.
Going in, I knew that the left switch was *supposed* to be part of a three-way relay, working a light with switches from the bottom and top of the stairway. I also knew that it wasn’t wired correctly — the top switch turned the light on and off no matter the position of the switch at the bottom of the stairs; but the switch at the bottom of the stairs could only be used if the switch at the top was in the OFF position. Maddening.
The middle switch controls the porch light. Seems easy enough. Finally, the right switch (which was the broken one) went to a nearby receptacle.
Method of Attack
I started slowly, taking off the faceplate in order to access the switches and the gangbox. Here’s what I found:
The plastic switch on the far left looked newer than the other two, which were made of ceramic. The switches themselves were also different, as the two on the right were short and stubby, and made loud clicking noises when you flipped them (except for the one that was now broken, of course). After digging out the screws from under the layers of paint, I then unscrewed the switches from the wall. Oh, heavens — what a mess!
While I realize the wiring is older, I wasn’t expecting this mess of wires in the gangbox. Not only are they all jumping into different switches from the main lines, there’s a nice neat bundle of wires held together with electrical tape. I was at a loss. I have no idea why all these wires were mixed up.
I’m not experienced enough to be brave and dive right in to it, so I did the only thing I could at this point: Made a note of which wire went to which switch, and faithfully replicated the pattern with the new switches.
That was the easy part. I clipped the ends off cleanly and restripped the wires, attaching them to the new switches — two double pole and one three-way switch. There was no way I was going to figure out what the issue was with the stairway switches at this point. We’ll have to get an electrician in to figure out just what’s going on in this case.
I tucked all the craziness back into the gangbox and closed up shop. Put the faceplate back on, and we were back in (usual) business. I can only imagine what the wiring is like in other parts of the house! But it is a marked improvement from the truly old wiring in our old apartment — that place still had the original gas lighting lines in it!
How is the wiring in your home? Have you ever come across something crazy like this?
60 years old? try older than that. Porcelain switches were discontinued around the mid to late 1930s…..
I pulled the cord on our ceiling fan and it just came out in my hand! So I had to dive in… the wire were and absolute mess being held together with masking tape… I did a similar thing to you and just rewired as it was before but took the wiring off for that part of the switch to allow the wall switch to do the work…. I need to find a new switch as it’s broken (can’t find one in any shops here right now) and then rewire properly, it won’t be fun!
@Bucksome & Joe: Thanks! I’m a big fan of doing things myself when I can and being frugal. Although I will call a professional if the job is too big or complicated.
I’m impressed! You did a great job figuring that out and making it work.
Hey, good for you!
Most people would pay $150 for an electrician. All it takes is a bit of confidence and patience and you can do it yourself.
Be well.
@Money Funk: I did cut the power, although the fun was trying to figure out which breaker would do the job — they’re labeled, but not labeled well. And thanks for pointing out I’m missing the Twitter button, lol. Still tweaking! =)
PS: should add the Twitter Button to your Share and Enjoy panel 🙂
That looks like a bunch of fun! You did a great job and it looks much nicer now. I guess you did survive the ordeal assuming you cut the power before messing with the wires? 😉
I lived in a house once that the electrical layout was so old it still had copper connectors. Come to find out they are rather dangerous as they tend to start fire easy. Least i didn’t rent that house too long.
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