Home Improvement

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12:10

Oh no what have I started ... :-) I just thought that that "Säbelsäge" was a much cooler word for a reciprocating saw, but I have to hand it to @Tester101 -- he won the competition with that Karate Chop Saw!

Steve Jackson

I agree, Chuck Norris aka @Tester101 easily wins the round.

2 hours later…

Javache

14:28

Hi, I was advised to ask this question on diy, would that be a good idea? electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/25965/…

Steve Jackson

@Javache, I'm not sure we'd be much help. I think that would be off-topic, usually our questions are home-related.

Tester101

@Javache It will likely get closed. While it is called diy.stackexchange, it deals with do-it-yourself home maintenance and repair.

Javache

That's what I thought, thanks :)

3 hours later…

Tester101

17:16

@TorbenGundtofteBruun Chuck Norris always wins. That's why when I play "Rock, Paper, Scissors", I always throw Chuck Norris.

Tester101

17:30

Q: Help with one-way switch w/ pilot light that has poor documentation

I am trying to replace a very old one-way switch with a pilot light (light comes on when the switch is on). The original switch was extremely old, and used quick-install terminals ONLY. Even worse, whoever installed it shoved both hots into one port, and both neutrals into another port. None of t...

Does anybody else find it odd that they call it a "pilot light"?

Does it keep the electrons flowing, so the light can turn on faster?

Aaron

I'm more confused as to why a switch that is only on when the load is on would require its own neutral

I guess with its own neutral its wired in parallel vs series

Tester101

@Aaron What would the circuit look like without a neutral? What would happen if the "pilot" burnt out?

Aaron

yeah

so, without its own neutral it's the pilot light and the main light wired in series

on the other hand, you wouldn't know if the light outside burnt out if the switch has its own neutral

Tester101

Wait... is that what the pilot light is for? if the downstream light burns out, the pilot light turns off? I thought it was just an indicator to let you know the switch is on, or a way to find the switch in the dark .

Aaron

17:46

Well, let's go now with the pilot meaning "light is on when switch is on"

If the switch internals are wired in series (no neutral separate return from the switch), then if either light (pilot or main) burns out, the other one will not go on

If they're wired in parallel, then you need a separate neutral return, and either one can burn out and the other one is completely unaffected

I'm not so sure that for an outside light that you can't see (the whole point of a pilot light), that it doesn't make more sense to have it wired in series so you know when it's burnt out

no?

and why is it so bleeping hard to find a white, plastic, oversized, blank wallplate?

Tester101

18:24

@Aaron I was confused. You are correct. Pilot light = on when fixture is on, Illuminated = on when fixture is off. Though I'm not sure a pilot light is supposed to go off if the fixture dies, it just lets you know the fixture is powered.

Aaron

18:39

@Tester101, true, but I think that if I were designing this product, I would want the pilot light to not illuminate if I turn the switch on and I have no continuity through the remote fixture

But that's just me

But yes, there is also confusion about "pilot light" vs "illuminated light" terminology on switches