When wiring a light switch what Colour is the live wire?

The brown wire is Live (also know as permanent live), this brings the live supply to the switch. The blue wire is known as the Switched Live and takes power to the light.
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Which color is the live wire black or white?

US AC power circuit wiring color codes

See Table below. The protective ground is green or green with yellow stripe. The neutral is white, the hot (live or active) single phase wires are black , and red in the case of a second active.
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Is Live wire white or red?

White Wires with Red/Black Tape – Hot

This modification signifies that the cables are being used as a live wire, and they should be handled with caution. These may find their way into 240-volt outlets replacing the red wire as the second live wire.
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Which wire is live red or black?

The live wire is brown in new systems and red in old systems. The neutral wire is blue in new systems and black in old systems.
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What color wires connect light switch?

Basic Knowledge of How to Wire a Light Switch
  1. Black Wire – This is the hot or load wire.
  2. White Wire – This is the neutral wire.
  3. Bare Copper (Green) Wire – This is your ground wire.
  4. Red Wire – This wire is used for 3 or 4 way switches and will connect the switches together so they can each control your lights.
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Old Cable Colours Pre 2004 In 2 Way Switching and a Feed (Supply) to a Switch for an Outside Light



Does it matter which wire goes where on a light switch?

In the case of a single-pole switch, these wires are interchangeable—it doesn't make any difference which wire is attached to which screw terminal. Inside the switch is a metal pathway that closes when the switch is in the ON position and opens to interrupt the flow of power when the switch is turned OFF.
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What Colour is switched live?

The brown wire is Live (also know as permanent live), this brings the live supply to the switch. The blue wire is known as the Switched Live and takes power to the light.
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What is the red wire on a light switch?

What are Red Wires? Red wires are usually used as secondary hot wires. Red wires are also hot and should be clearly marked to avoid the dangers of electrocution. Red wires are commonly used when installing ceiling fans, where the light switch maybe.
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What do different wire colors mean?

Black wires are hot wires that run to the electrical outlet from the switch. Red wires are hot wires common in a 240-volt outlet or when a wall switch controls the outlet. Blue and yellow wires are hot wires for ceiling fans and three- or four-way switches. White or gray electrical wires are neutral wires.
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What are the wire color codes?

3-Phase Wire Color Codes
  • Phase 1 – Black wire.
  • Phase 2 – Red wire.
  • Phase 3 – Blue wire.
  • Neutral – White wire.
  • Ground – Green, Green with a Yellow Stripe, or Bare Wire.
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Why are there 2 black wires on light switch?

Black means hot, white signifies neutral, and green indicates ground. 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.
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Which is the live wire?

Live, neutral and earth mains wires

In a plug, the live wire (brown) and the neutral wire (blue) are the two wires that form the complete circuit with a household appliance. The earth wire (green and yellow) does not normally form part of the circuit and is included as a safety wire.
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Which is live blue or brown?

The blue wire is known as the neutral wire, and its job is to take electricity away from an appliance, and back to the power supply. The brown cable – known as the live wire – delivers electricity from the power supply to your appliance.
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Is black the live wire?

Black wires should always be considered live, so taking proper safety precautions is important to avoid electrocution. This includes shutting off the circuit breaker that supplies the wires you're working on, or shutting down the power to the whole house at the main electrical panel.
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Is black wire switched live?

Assuming the red is permanently live(which you can easily check) the black will be the load,or switched live. There should also have been a neutral but many people omit this. The stat was only working as an on/off switch so it wouldn't have matered which way round the wires were.
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How do you identify a switch line?

WIth a continuity tester you can identify the switch cable at the light fitting by measuring across each pair in turn for continuity. With the multi-meter set to resistance test for open circuit (infinate resistance) or closed (no resistance) as you change the switch position.
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What are the 3 wires in a light fixture?

A standard box for a light fixture will have three wires, a white (neutral), black (current), and copper (ground.)
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What happens if you wire a light switch wrong?

But here's the catch: If you connect the circuit wires to the wrong terminals on an outlet, the outlet will still work, but the polarity will be backward. When this happens, a lamp, for example, will have its bulb socket sleeve energized rather than the little tab inside the socket.
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Where do the red and black wires go on a light switch?

It doesn't matter which traveler wire (red or black) connects to which traveler terminal as long as it's the same in both switch boxes. For example, if the red traveler wire is on the top traveler terminal in the first box, it should also be on the top traveler terminal in the second box.
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Which wire is hot when both are same color?

In most modern fixtures the neutral wire will be white and the hot wire is red or black. In some types of fixtures, both wires will be the same color. In this case, the neutral wire is always identified by some means. In some cases, there will be small writing on the wiring case.
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