Just bought older house which someone else started to overhaul. The bathroom has several wires hanging. Some hooked up and some arent. How can I test the wires to see which ones work and which ones dont. I have a tester. Dont want to electricude myself. The ones that dont work i want to do away with.
2006-09-14 03:54:44 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
The chances are that they all work. If the previous owner left them hanging, he probably intended to use them.
If you are are concerned about electrical shock, some simple precautions will protect you from that. So don't worry.
The standard for house wiring is that all hot wires are black. White wires and non-insulated copper is ground. You can buy an inexpensive voltmeter from Radio Shack or the hardware store for as little as $15. Ask them to show you how to turn the dial to AC volts.
Once in the bathroom, touch the tester leads to any two wires at a time. If you get a reading, then you know one of the wires is enegized. If you find them energized, then go to the breaker or fuse box and de-energize the bathroom circuits.
Recheck the wires to make sure they are de-energized and go from there.
It's not difficult. Just remember, black wire is always hot. White is nuetral.
2006-09-14 04:04:53 · answer #1 · answered by richard Alvarado 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a cheap current detector that I got at Home Depot and have had it a long time just for the purposes you described.. If you had one of those, you could touch the two wires from the tester to the individual wire from the wall and if current is there, it will show up on the current tester. I do know what you are facing, many of the older houses had fixtures in one place and then the electricity was cut off there and the fixture was done away with or moved to another location leaving wires that no one knows what they are for or if they are LIVE
2006-09-14 04:01:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ideal house in ideal condition it would take forever to trace each wire back to fusebox/tripswitches. Treat every wire as live. If there's no different colours on them denoting what charge is in them, leave it well alone and get a professional in to check, trust me, i've risked it too many times to rub two bare wires together to try and see if theres a spark. With someone else in doing it, you don't have to worry about anything apart from paying which shouldn't be too much
2006-09-14 04:01:18 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Having bought and refurbished an old house (built in 1912) I can say from my experiance that if you want to really check out the wiring you will be better off to hire an electrican to do that, it will probably save you money in the long run and also save you from electrical shock(s)
2006-09-14 04:09:35 · answer #4 · answered by ijcoffin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably see a black, a white and a green. The black is the hot one - use your tester to see if it's live; the green is the ground and won't kill you. However, it is always wise to turn off power to the area before fiddling around with electricty.
2006-09-14 03:58:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
get an electrician. If an amateur has been rewiring, who knows what colours he used? It is not worth the risk. You can use your meter to check any connections you make after the current wiring has been analysed. The electrician can also tell you what is safe practice and what isn't.
2006-09-14 05:00:50 · answer #6 · answered by XT rider 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use a electric meter reader. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. Very easy to use and it will let you know if current is running though.
2006-09-14 03:56:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋