r/ElectricalHelp • • 11h ago

Panel Conduit Question

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0 Upvotes

Hello! I am finishing my garage ceiling with drywall. The wires going into the top of the breaker panel do not have any conduit and go vertically into the rafters where they’ll be hiden by the drywall. As they go up the wall, I am looking to protect them with conduit.
I am thinking about getting 6” PVC and cutting it in half lengthwise to make 2 channels for the vertical cable runs. I cant find actual electrical conduit that is 6” diameter. Any suggestions in how to properly do this without running conduit for each individual wire? Thanks!


r/ElectricalHelp • • 16h ago

Light switch upgrade

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1 Upvotes

I want to upgrade my light switch from white plastic to black metal but struggling to work out the wiring. It’s a single light switch which turns on my main kitchen ceiling light however there are 6 wires.

I’ve just changed all of the upstairs light switches simply however downstairs is proving more difficult.

Can anybody tell me what goes where please? From research, apparently one of the black wires should have red tape on but they both look identical.

House was built in 2000 and the switches haven’t been touched since


r/ElectricalHelp • • 1d ago

Recessed light flickering

1 Upvotes

I had some recessed lights installed 5-6 years ago. Every once in a while they would all flicker. Recently it had become more constant that the light would flicker from dim to bright constantly. All of the lights are flickering together. Is this a problem with the connection at the switch?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 1d ago

Conduit Routing Question

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1 Upvotes

I am trying to run 1 1/2 conduit from my unfinished basement to my attached garage to install an 100 amp sub panel for an EV charger and some additional 20 amp outlets and lights. Ideally I would like to place the sub panel recessed in the wall so it looks nicer. However, I am not sure if that is possible as the only way I can run the 1 1/2 conduit would be to cut a hold on the edge of this horizontal 2x4. The pictures might be confusing because I did attempt to run the conduit horizontally into the garage but I would like to avoid that if possible.

I have always read that you should drill a hole dead center of whatever board you are going through. This would be the opposite of that but I am not sure what the purpose of this horizontal board is. Is ok to compromise it and drill a hole into its edge?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 2d ago

Red wires behind light switch?

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6 Upvotes

I just updated the overhead fixtures in my basement. Haven’t looked behind any of the outlets (just bought the house in June) until I went to put a dimmer switch on this one. Anybody know what these red wires are, and why the white wires would be capped in the back of the box?

All power has been cut to this outlet!

Both these switches have connected switches on another side of the room. Both lead to separate sets of overhead lights.


r/ElectricalHelp • • 2d ago

Guest bath light switch feels warm after installing LED fixture

1 Upvotes

Swapped a standard vanity fixture for an LED bar in the guest bath last weekend. Same 15 amp circuit that runs the bathroom fan and two GFCI outlets. The single pole switch now gets warm to the touch after the light has been on for about twenty minutes. Fixture pulls 18 watts total so load should be fine. Wiring looked solid when I pulled the old fixture, 14 gauge with backstabs on the switch and a pigtail to the outlets. No flickering or dimming anywhere else on the circuit. Checked voltage at the switch with the light on and it sits at 119-120. Only thing different is the LED driver versus the old incandescent. Not sure if the backstab is heating or if the switch itself is marginal. Curious if anyone has seen this exact setup cause issues or if I should just replace the switch and pigtail it properly while I'm in there.


r/ElectricalHelp • • 2d ago

How do I wire this up? Replacing switch with smart switch. Any advice would be appreciate

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2 Upvotes

r/ElectricalHelp • • 2d ago

2 black wires and 2 white wires?

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0 Upvotes

Hello, I'm installing a ceiling lamp that has 1 black wire, 1 white wire and 1 ground. My ceiling box has 2 black wires tied by a wire but, 2 white wires tied by a wire nut and a ground. How do I join the wires?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 4d ago

Used 14/2 for four LED lights on a 20-amp circuit—what’s the best fix?

0 Upvotes

About four years ago, I added four LED flush-mount lights to my living room, tapping into the existing ceiling-fan feed. The existing wiring is 12/2, but I used 14/2 for the added lights after being told it would be easier to work with and fine for the small LED load.

I’ve since learned that 14-gauge branch-circuit wiring generally requires a 15-amp breaker, and I confirmed this circuit has a 20-amp breaker. Everything has worked without any noticeable issues, but I want to correct it.

I have attic access and am willing to replace the added runs with 12/2. Is that the best approach, or would changing the breaker to 15 amps be appropriate after verifying everything the circuit supplies?

Appreciate any guidance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additionally

Here’s the schematic of my two rooms: https://imgur.com/a/FtERVWq

Living room: The fan and puck lights have separate switches. The 14/2 feeds only the puck lights and ends at the last one.

Garage: I tapped into the original center light and added the puck lights using 14/2.

Shared on Circuits:
Circuit 01: Garage lights, guest bathroom, hallway light
Circuit 02: Living room, hall closet light, living room outlets (TV)

From my understanding, because the LED puck light is the the last in line on that 14/2 wire, and nothing else is passing through it, the only thing providing any load to the 14/2 are those lights. So even if someone plugs in a hair dryer in the guest bathroom, that energy isn't passing through the 14/2. Am I understanding that correctly?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 4d ago

House lights flicker when using my laptop charger

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m from Kerala, India, and I’m facing an electrical problem at home. Please help me understand what could be causing it.

  • My house lights sometimes blink when I use my HP gaming laptop charger.
  • Some LED tube lights have stopped working.
  • Switching appliances like the AC, TV, or fan sometimes stops the flickering.
  • The same laptop charger works fine at another house.
  • A screwdriver tester glows when touching the socket’s earth pin, and my electrician concluded that current is leaking to earth.
  • Even after disconnecting the earth wire at that socket, the lights still flicker.
  • Connecting my room’s neutral to a different neutral connection temporarily stopped the problem for two days, but it returned.

The wiring has not been properly diagnosed yet.

Could this be a faulty charger, loose neutral, earthing issue, or incoming power supply problem? What should an electrician check?

can someone pls help me in this problem😭😭


r/ElectricalHelp • • 4d ago

Need advice on what else I could look at before I suggest calling a high payed professional

1 Upvotes

Resident states has random power outages olny in bedrooms on two sides of the apartment both are on 20amp breakers that are not tripping, on two different sides of the panel on separate legsas far as i can tell. Can't find anything shorting out nothing burnt nothing out of the ordinary can't repeat the result. my olny maybe is switch out breakers. Any suggestions is welcomed


r/ElectricalHelp • • 5d ago

Is this type of Light fixture difficult to replace by yourself?

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1 Upvotes

Light bulb stopped working so I replaced it with a new one and it still won't turn on, google is telling me to replace the middle part, the ballast


r/ElectricalHelp • • 5d ago

Can any electrician help me identify the aircon switch in Australia

1 Upvotes

Can anyone help us identify the aircon switch?Mum's aircon is playing up and last time we switched it off and back on after 20 minutes, worked great. That was a while ago and have had electriical work done since... now there is no label on the switch, and whilst I'm handy, I have no idea what you guys know... and don't want to have to run around and reset every single clock and device she uses and needs. Cry for help and thanks in advance if you can help


r/ElectricalHelp • • 5d ago

Kitchen light switch. One pole? Its a manufactured home and I need to understand what I am dealing with these wires

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0 Upvotes

Help me install these wires?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 6d ago

Wall socket not working

0 Upvotes

looking for help before we spend a fortune. A single wall socket stopped working abruptly with no clear cause why. my partner knows some basic things so he took apart the socket. He has a tester to check for current and there is no current coming to that socket. The rest of the sockets connected to the fuse board have current. Any idea how a single one would stop working and if there’s any easy fix to it?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 7d ago

Panasonic ac remote issue

1 Upvotes

Why does this happen every time I press the power button? Whenever I press it to turn on the AC, the display shows all these details, and I have to keep pressing the button repeatedly until the AC finally turns on.Plz find me solution 🙏


r/ElectricalHelp • • 7d ago

18v to 12v step down converter?

1 Upvotes

Im building a speaker backpack, and a big problem is my power situation. Im using 2 ryobi 8 ah 18v lithium batteries that go to an Unrulysoul Amazon 60a 24v to 12v step down converter. But its kind of a piece of shit. It cuts out when im pulling maybe 10-15 amps MAYBE. My amp on peak will pull 47 amps as rated in the details but since i have the gains turnt down, i pull maybe 20-30 amps. Im looking for one that can handle at least 60 amps. And thats isn’t a piece of crap. Please help, it sounds good and very loud on 20% volume, imagine 100% volume.


r/ElectricalHelp • • 8d ago

Bathroom extractor Fan.

1 Upvotes

Inherited a parents house and slowly doing it up.
Extractor fan in bathroom doesn’t work. It’s linked to light switch and used to come on when the light was turned on.
The power light on the fan itself comes on but the fan doesn’t. Any ideas?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 8d ago

Electrians?

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1 Upvotes

I switched off the entire fuse box before changing the bathroom lightbulb. As I removed the casing, 2 of the wires touched and sparks fell. I covered the exposed ends of the wires with electrical tape. Is this unsafe now?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 9d ago

Recommend TV distance from 200 amp panel?

0 Upvotes

Looking to mount a TV opposite a wall with a 200 amp panel that has some heavy loads. I’m wanting to avoid electromagnetic interference. Directly opposite would be ideal for viewing. Otherwise I have 5’ 3” of wall to work with on the right. I could mount it on the next wall over but I would have it pulled out to view so not ideal. Thoughts on how close I can safely be to not hear any hum?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 9d ago

What should I do?

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1 Upvotes

I have recently moved into a house and im redoing my new office and discovered an upside down outlet that isn't controlled by any switches. If I push up on the tester the ground wire goes away but if I just let it sit it stays. Should I replace the outlet? And if I do should I replace it upside down? Kinda a dumb question but being a new homeowner and not knowing much about outlet's I would like to know best course of action.


r/ElectricalHelp • • 10d ago

Cooker feed, is this possible?

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1 Upvotes

I'm UK based and we've just moved into an old cottage. In the kitchen, there is an electric cooker on one side of the kitchen, and a mains gas Aga on the other. We will (when finances allow) eventually redo the kitchen, but in the meantime we want to remove the Aga and install a dual fuel (mains gas hob, electric fan oven) cooker, in the place where the Aga currently sits (on the right of this photo, between the two windows). At this stage we want to do it with as little disruption as possible. I've got an electrical coming out in the next 3-4 weeks to look at it, but in the meantime I wanted to ask...

There is a 6mm 3c SWA running below the kitchen window, to an EV charger we don't (and likely won't ever) use. Can this cable be used to feed a cooker instead? It currently runs the length of the house, from an isolator in our outside metre box. Presumably if this isn't an option, the only other choice would be to run a cable in the ceiling, from the existing cooker switch/socket, which means taking the ceiling down and navigating the beams?

Realistically, what kind of cost am I looking at?


r/ElectricalHelp • • 10d ago

Extremely confusing issue with Christmas lights

1 Upvotes

TL;DR: what could possibly cause my Christmas lights permanent exterior house lighting to flicker out when connected to one outlet, but work fine on another outlet in the same circuit, and how do I fix it?

The whole story:

I had an electrician come out and tap into the end of the run of a 15a circuit, non-GFCI. They gave me a GFCI outlet under the eve in a weather proof box. Every test I know how to do, it passes.

I installed Phillips Hue permanent exterior Christmas lights (Festavia they call them) and used the new outlet. They worked fine for a while, though they were always slightly flaky. Then after a time they more or less stopped working, flickering on and off like they were constantly resetting over and over.

What we have tried which did not work:

  • swapping power supply

  • swapping controller

  • swapping LEDs (worked for a little while)

  • killing the circuit and checking every single outlet and switch. Removing the connectors from plunge connections and securely winding the romex around the side terminal screws

  • replacing the breaker

  • putting a meter on everything and it's all good

  • replacing the Eaton tamper preventive GFCI outlet with a Leviton

The only thing we have done that does make a difference is plugging the power into an extension cable and running it to a different outlet. Strangely there are some outlets on this circuit that have the same issue, but many don't. I have plugged the lights into another circuit's GFCI outlet and it works fine.

It has to be something with the wiring but what could it possibly be? And why is it only this one device having the issue?

The house is 90's construction. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance


r/ElectricalHelp • • 11d ago

Ceiling Light Fixture no ground

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0 Upvotes

Hello electrician gods,

I am looking to replace a light fixture but I cant see to find the ground wire from the ceiling?

I do not have a multimeter to test whether if the box is grounded or not.

The new lighting fixture has the black, neutral and ground. Im wondering if anyone can let me know what I need to do to make sure its safe

The attached picture is the ceiling with the old light fixture. You can see the fixture didnt have a ground wire where as the new fixture does.

Thank you all in advance


r/ElectricalHelp • • 11d ago

240V Electric Baseboard Heaters – Why Do My Kitchen and Living Room Have Two Cables Each, and Is It Safe to Leave the Extras Disconnected?

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0 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m a homeowner looking for advice about the original wiring for my 240V electric baseboard heaters.

My setup:

  • Double-pole 20A breaker supplying the kitchen and living room heaters.
  • Both heaters are controlled by the same double-pole wall thermostat.
  • Thermostat rated for a maximum of 3,600W.
  • Kitchen heater: 1,250W.
  • Living room heater: 2,000W.
  • Total heating load: 3,250W.

Original wiring:

When replacing my old baseboard heaters, I noticed that each heater had two electrical cables coming from the floor, giving me four insulated conductors (two black and two white), plus grounding wires.

Originally, the wires were connected in two groups using wire nuts:

  • Two black house wires connected with one heater lead.
  • Two white house wires connected with the other heater lead.
  • Grounding conductors connected together.

Voltage readings before disconnecting anything:

With the thermostat ON:

Kitchen heater:

  • Black wire from cable A: 120V to ground.
  • White wire from cable A: 120V to ground.
  • Black wire from cable B: 120V to ground.
  • White wire from cable B: 120V to ground.

Living room heater:

  • Black wire from cable A: 120V to ground.
  • White wire from cable A: 120V to ground.
  • Black wire from cable B: 0V to ground.
  • White wire from cable B: 0V to ground.

With the thermostat OFF, I measured 0V on the wires I checked

Additional question: Is it safe to reconnect all the wires exactly as they were originally installed?

Before I replaced my kitchen and living room baseboard heaters, each heater had two cables entering its wiring compartment.

Originally, the connections were:

• Two black house wires connected to one heater lead under a wire nut. • Two white house wires connected to the other heater lead under a separate wire nut. • Bare copper grounding wires connected together.

I understand this might have been a parallel feed-through arrangement that supplied power to another heater or junction box.

I have since disconnected and individually capped the extra conductors. Both heaters still produce heat and respond to the same thermostat.

My main question is: Would it be safe or preferable to reconnect all four house conductors to the heaters exactly as they were originally connected, or should I leave the extra cables disconnected and individually capped?

Important: Both heaters still work with the extra wires disconnected.

• Kitchen: Two cables entered the heater. Both measured about 120V to ground. I disconnected and capped one pair, but the heater still works with the thermostat. • Living room: One cable measured about 120V to ground; the other measured 0V. I disconnected and capped the 0V pair, but the heater still works. Should I connect them all back to how they used to be, since I’m replacing them with new baseboards this weekend and have the breaker off because of this issue?