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like the title says both wires (black and white get or turn hot). To answer your question, Yes, that is correct. The reason you are getting 120 volts when the fan/light is on is because the voltage is feeding trough the motor or the light bulb (or both).
Why would the white wire be hot?
Sometimes a white wire is used as a hot wire—not a neutral—in a switch leg, or switch loop, between a switch and a light fixture. In one common scenario, a switch is added to a fixture that is wired without a wall switch (as might be the case with a pull-chain fixture).
Should black and white wires be hot?
Black, red, white with black or red tape will always indicate a hot wire. While white wiring is permitted— only when clearly marked with black or white tape—using any other color for a wire carrying current is strongly discouraged.
Can both wires be hot?
You will get a reading if one wire is hot and the other isn’t. However, if both wires are hot, the reading will be zero. However, if you need to rewire a light switch or a plug socket, you may occasionally come across two black wires. It’s essential that you determine which black wire is hot before proceeding.
Should a white wire ever be hot?
A white wire connected to one side of a switch is NOT a neutral, it will be, and is designed to be, hot when the switch is on.
Should there be voltage on the neutral wire?
Under load conditions, there should be some neutral-ground voltage – 2 V or a little bit less is pretty typical. If neutral-ground voltage is 0 V – again assuming that there is load on the circuit – then check for a neutral-ground connection in the receptacle, whether accidental or intentional.
What is hot wire white or black?
Electrical Wires The black wire is the “hot” wire, which carries the electricity from the breaker panel into the switch or light source. The white wire is the “neutral” wire, which takes any unused electricity and current and sends them back to the breaker panel.
What happens if you mix up black and white wires?
If you see both sides connected together, it means it’s a switch loop. The white wire that’s connected to the black wire carries power to the switch. And the black wire that’s in the same cable carries back that switched power to the outlet.
Why do I have 2 black wires and 2 white wires?
Each lightbulb socket must have a separate black and white wire to supply electricity to the lightbulb; the more lightbulbs, the more wires. Connect the two black wires from the light fixture to the black wire from the electrical box the same way you connected the white wires.
Can I connect black and white wires?
A single black and white connected together is normal. It is part of a switch loop. A black connected to a group of whites is not normal and probably should be connected to the other blacks. It is normal to have a white connected to a group of blacks if a switch loop is used.
Why are there 2 hot wires?
4 Answers. There are multiple wires because that is how wires are connected to gather to get from the distribution box to the farthest outlet on the circuit. Where there are not enough screws, you attach the outlets together with a connector with an additional short “pigtail” that goes to the device.
What happens when two hot wires touch?
A short circuit happens when a “hot” wire (black) touches another hot wire or touches a “neutral” wire (white) in one of your outlets. When these two wires touch, a large amount of current flows, creating more heat than the circuit can handle, so it shuts off.
Why would a switch have 2 hot wires?
2 Answers. The wire from the other switch is almost certainly the line hot. If so, it will be always hot no matter what position either of the switches is in. This is electrically the same as having a separate wire going to each switch from a common line hot.
What happens if you connect a hot wire to a neutral wire?
Tying together the hot and neutral wires creates a short circuit, which should immediately trip the circuit breaker.
Can 2 hot wires share a neutral?
It is NOT permitted to share a neutral in any other situation. If you were to share a neutral with two breakers on the same leg of a panel, both circuits could draw the breaker limit (lets say 15A) making the shared neutral as much as 30A return current!.
Why is there no voltage on the neutral?
So the voltage of the neutral wire is always zero By definition. The reality is a little different. If you measure the voltage between any two points on a superconducting wire, you will measure zero volts no matter how much current is flowing, but the neutral wires in the power grid are not superconductors.
Why is my voltage on neutral?
The wire used in electrical distribution systems is usually made of copper. When the wire length from the breaker panel to the service outlet is long and the connected equipment is pulling a large amount of current, the resistance in the wire will cause a voltage drop along the NEUTRAL wire.
Why do I have 50 volts on my neutral?
this is because the ground is energized. but it could also be that voltage going through a light and trying to return to the electrical panel on the white, but not being able to get there due to an open neutral that is touching the bare metal of the can light or a ground wire.
Which wire is positive when both are black?
If the multi-colored wire is black and red, the black wire is the negative wire, while the red one is positive. If both wires are black but one has a white stripe, the striped wire is negative, while the plain black wire is positive. Look in the owner manual to determine which wires are negative in a car.
Why is black wire not hot?
By convention, that means the wire is hot. When you connect an outlet or light switch, the black wire goes to the brass screws. The ground wire goes to the green screw. The white wire goes to the white-metal screws on an electrical outlet.
Can black and red wires go together?
If the red and black wires are connected together already and energized, yes you can do that but you will need a pull chain light or a remote control, if they are not switch controlled.
