Wiring question for 120v

[Box of frogs]

I have a wall fixture that was in the house when I bought it that doesn’t work.
Pulled the fixture and there is no power to the outlet. I can also find no switch in the house that is logically place to operate the light.
Where I’d like to have an opinion is on how it’s wired. See in the below picture that black and white wires are joined in a wire nut from two separate wire runs????

The solitary neutral and hot were on the fixture. This make no sense to me.
The switches in the house are wired in series, one breaker cuts of several rooms and outlets. So I am used to seeing multiple wire runs behind a switch, but never like this.
Can some one explain why?

34016

[Box of frogs]

Also, the wires in the box on the left side are hot. Reading 120v

[BucketBack]

It looks like a SeaBee wired it, like the pole barn here.

[Box of frogs]

Found the switch after more digging.
It’s the push to start switch under the attic fan switch with the broken off knob.
I had always assumed that that switch was a timer for the fan at some point in history.

So I need a new switch and a better wall sconce to make the lady frog happy

34018

[MoreAmmoOK]

I would guess that the ones that are not hot go to a switch. If so, the white wire tied to the black wire should have been wrapped with black tape to indicate that it is being used as "hot".

[SOCOM42]

I have a wall fixture that was in the house when I bought it that doesn’t work.
Pulled the fixture and there is no power to the outlet. I can also find no switch in the house that is logically place to operate the light.
Where I’d like to have an opinion is on how it’s wired. See in the below picture that black and white wires are joined in a wire nut from two separate wire runs????

The solitary neutral and hot were on the fixture. This make no sense to me.
The switches in the house are wired in series, one breaker cuts of several rooms and outlets. So I am used to seeing multiple wire runs behind a switch, but never like this.
Can some one explain why?

34016

Can't tell much, but, how about a three way wiring of a SPDT switch.

Used the neutral return for the second leg???

[Box of frogs]

Ok
I have the light working.
As far as the wiring, it appears to me that the hot side of the inbound wire goes to the white wire and goes to the line side of the switch.
The load side of the switch comes back to the fixture and the neutral from the line and the hot from the switch connects to the fixture.
Why? Only reason I see is to save wire.

[Illini Warrior]

take some advice - memory isn't infallible after 20yrs or so >>> you come back to that situation in the future - have something tagged and noted - not a bad thing for the next guy also ......

[Dwight55]

I have a wall fixture that was in the house when I bought it that doesn’t work.
Pulled the fixture and there is no power to the outlet. I can also find no switch in the house that is logically place to operate the light.
Where I’d like to have an opinion is on how it’s wired. See in the below picture that black and white wires are joined in a wire nut from two separate wire runs????

The solitary neutral and hot were on the fixture. This make no sense to me.
The switches in the house are wired in series, one breaker cuts of several rooms and outlets. So I am used to seeing multiple wire runs behind a switch, but never like this.
Can some one explain why?

34016

Looking at your picture you have 4 things:

A bare ground wire

A black wire with a wire nut on it

A white wire with a wire nut on it

A black and a white wire . . . wired together with a yellow wire nut

If this was done by "most" construction electricians that I know . . . the white wire on the bottom is a wired neutral . . . if you follow it all the way . . . it will go back to your power panel and be wired into your neutral bar (or will go to a junction box . . . and tie to another white wire which will eventually go to the power panel) . . . in any case it is your neutral for the 120 volt circuit.

The yellow wire nut has a black wire coming to it . . . that black wire will eventually lead back to a fuse or circuit breaker in your power panel. If the circuit breaker is on . . . it will bite your butt . . . and can conceivably kill you deader than a door nail. You want to turn off the circuit breaker before messing with that bad boy.

Again . . . if done by the guys I worked with . . . the yellow wire nut makes the white wire coming from it . . . "HOT" . . . and it leads to a single pole switch somewhere in the house. I think you said you found it. In the box where that switch is . . . the white wire is "HOT" . . . and in both boxes it should have had black electrical tape . . . or a black plastic sleeve . . . which would indicate to anyone working on that circuit . . . that it was "HOT".

That "HOT" lead goes to one side of a single pole switch . . . when it is closed . . . it connects "HOT" electricity to the black wire going back to the box you have in your picture.

The black wire at the top of the picture is the "HOT" wire that needs to be wired to the black wire of the light.

That's what it is . . .

May God bless,
Dwight

(30 yrs electrician experience including construction work)

[Sparkyprep]

Sounds like Pastor Dwight nailed it. The only thing I will add for all amateur electricians- Voltage doesn't care what color the insulation is on the wire. Do NOT assume that a "white" wire is a neutral. It should be a neutral, but it doesn't have to be. Lots of amateur have "hot" wires that are white. There are even a few instances where it is legal by code.

[stevekozak]

I admire anyone who understands electricity. I do not. Hence, beyond very very basic things, I do not mess with it.

[Sasquatch]

Glad you got it figured out. The copper ground coming out looks newer than everything else. I'm guessing put in after the original install way back when.

My house was built in '57 by the owner who was not a house builder. And the guy who lived here before me was not the handyman he makes himself out to be. I've had a lot of projects where I have to stand back and scratch my head wondering "okay, what in the hell have they done here."

[red442joe]

Switch loop, needs re-identified.

Joe

[1skrewsloose]

I don't know much about this, but looked like wiring for two switches, to control one light, one switch at the bottom, one at the top of a stairs. I think on one you run the hot thru the ground to give power back to the other switch. I did this one time, and had a hell of a time getting it right.

Kept running into the problem of turning the light on at the bottom of stairs, but couldn't turn it off on top, or vice versa.

DC is so much simpler.

[Dwight55]

I don't know much about this, but looked like wiring for two switches, to control one light, one switch at the bottom, one at the top of a stairs. I think on one you run the hot thru the ground to give power back to the other switch. I did this one time, and had a hell of a time getting it right.

Kept running into the problem of turning the light on at the bottom of stairs, but couldn't turn it off on top, or vice versa.

DC is so much simpler.

Not even close . . . 2 switches . . . one light is done with two "3 way" switches . . . I've done well over 100 of em . . . they don't look anything like this.

May God bless,
Dwight