Ask the Electrician

I just built the house , side screws used I believe .

I have a power conditioner at my home theatre set up , no improvement , we tried everything but getting a new fridge

 

I am thinking about becoming an electrician. How is the pay and work if you don't mind me asking. Should I stay away or pursue this as a career. I have always been good with wiring and such. Thanks

 

how would I wire a 3-way switch with a power source in the middle that also powers the back of the house using 14/2 wiring. basically 4 14/2 coming out of light source. I started out with wiring the power to the back and adding a wire to make it only working with 3 cords.

It's an old house and whoever had wired it before did some tricky stuff. We think he tried to use the grounding as the traveler but can't get it to work.

 

http://www.electrical-online.com/3-way-switch-diagram-variation-4/ thats how a three way switch works. you never want to use the ground for anything other than a ground.

 

Ive been locked up withh 277v on a ladder. never want that to happen again! my arm was numb for the whole day.

 

I love being an electrician. The money is in commercial and industrial work. When you first start you wont make much money but it gets better.

 

You have to have three wires between the switches, but you can then run a single pair from either switch box to the light itself.

It's common practice to make the white "neutral" wire in a romex pair hot, but then you mark the wire black with paint or marker. But I've see. The "marking" done by wrapping black electrical tape around the end.

 

Before starting my "job" as an electrician, the only experience i had that was even close was an electronics class in high school, it's very easy to catch on especially if you are mechanically inclined or spent some time with dad in the garage growing up. I can honestly say I LOVE what I do. I've been doing it for around 6 years though I'm only in my 4th (and final) year of schooling to get my journeyman card. I have NEVER been shocked, not even by 120 volts so I'm either very lucky or very good haha. I've blown up a pair of dykes and had a ground wire touch B-phase while making up a 120/208 3-phase panel, but have never been injured via electricity.
As a 4th year apprentice I'm making $23/Hr, will get a raise at the end of this semester, and then once i have my journeyman, I'll top out around $26/hr
I work on voltages ranging from 12v DC to 46,000v AC, fire alarm up to "real" Medium Voltage

Things you have to consider are: Are you afraid of heights? Can you follow directions? Are you creative? Are you motivated? Are you willing to go through schooling?

In my opinion if you just need a job, electrical isn't for you. If you are looking for a career, it's a great one. There are union and non-union companies, each has their advantages i suppose but I am non-union.
Here and maybe everywhere, schooling for the union is 5 years, whereas non-union is 4 years (2 years if you only want to do Residential, which i would NOT recommend...)

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me

 

No markings were on it, but did find out that it is powered from the switch, just on the oppoiste side, then feeds across to the first switch, then back up to the light. apparently there were some special people in the house before.

 

Anymore thoughts on how to get rid of my ground loop

 

$1500 fridge
$1000 Sony ES series amp
$400 Klipsch sub
Dedicated power conditioner on the components
Dedicated power circuit for the sub
Shielded coax in its own conduit from the components to the sub

 

*any more

I'll give my audio magician buddy a call tomorrow, guy knows everything aboot home theater systems.

 

Well Einstein , any thoughts ?

 

does your sub have a ground screw on the back of it? if yes it should be marked with something like this\/\/\/

 

I'm gonna use my 500th post and give my $0.02, electrical codes are very similar (if not the same) in the US, but some are different & I would consult an NEC book before installing or messing with your electrical components of your house. I'm a licensed electrician in Texas and have been shocked by 120 and 277 (ouch) but mainly work with industrial installations, (480, 2300, 4160, 13.8) line work, and instrumentation.

 

No

 

these should help with troubleshooting.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-stop-subwoofer-hum.htm

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/articles/180767.html

 

Thanks

 

I have a question that I had started a thread about until nmcqueen280 pointed out this thread to me:

Heres my question:

I need some help with wiring lights for the outside of my truck - I am going to put LED's on the outside (and maybe a couple inside).

Here's what I want the lights to do:

remote unlock truck: lights on
start truck: lights off
remote lock truck: lights off
toggle switch in cab: lights on/off
open door: lights on/off

But, I'd also like to turn off the lights if the door is open with the toggle switch... complicated enough??



I'll be using LED lights from Oznium because I like the products so far (see my build thread in signature)

I understand how to connect wires, how to wire single switch to multiple lights, etc.

I don't understand wiring jargon or symbols on diagrams - please use simple terms for labeling and explanations - thanks.


I'm not afraid of doing the work, I look forward to the education - please help me with this question!!!

Here's the link to my thread asking this question:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/202467-remote-turns-lights-wiring-help-please.html

 

As I'm a commercial electrician I work mostly with AC voltage systems with the exception of DC Voltage fire alarm and battery backups. I'll leave any automotive electrical questions for others