• How do I connect 3-way switches?
• I have an old house with only two wires coming to each outlet and switch, and no ground. Can I ground this system?
  
• I am adding a dishwasher to my older home. Does it need its own circuit or can I just connect it to the existing wiring above the countertop?
  
• Can I add a phone line to my house by myself?
  
• How can I remove a stuck and broken lightbulb?
  
• I want to install a new light switch. Does it matter which wire goes to which screw? I thought the hot wire went to the gold screw and the neutral wire to the silver screw.
  
• I want a switch at the top and bottom of the stairs to control one light. How do I do this?

• What's a "switch loop" and how does it work?
  
• Why does my smoke alarm keep beeping?
  
• My kitchen range is wired with aluminum wire and is connected directly to the house's copper electrical wire. Is this safe? What's the problem with aluminum wire?
  
• I want to connect a new ceiling fan, but there are only two wires and a ground wire coming out of the ceiling. But my fan has a black, white, and a red wire. What is the red for?
  
• Two of the four outlets in my bedroom won't work. What's up?
  
• How can I stop my fluorescent lights from buzzing?
  
• My fluorescent bulbs are dim and won't get brighter. Why?

How do I connect 3-way switches?

This example assumes power arrives at a ceiling light fixture with 2 wires, which is a standard arrangement setup. Power then goes from the fixture in the middle to each wall switch via 3 wires, which are black, white and red. For clarification purposes, your arriving black and white wires are called common wires and the three wires are travelers. The common black brings the power.

At the light, connect the common black to the black traveler that goes to switch A. At Switch A, connect the black traveler to the common terminal (darker in color or marked common). Run the common neutral wire (white) to the light. At Switch A, connect the red traveler to a traveler terminal. Connect the white traveler to a traveler terminal on Switch A and mark the end black with tape or paint to show it's hot.

At the light, connect the red traveler to the red traveler that runs to Switch B. At Switch B, connect the red traveler to a traveler terminal. At the light, connect the black traveler to the light. At Switch B, connect the black traveler to the common terminal. At the light, connect the white traveler from Switch A to the white traveler from Switch B. At Switch B, connect the white traveler to a traveler terminal and mark it black. That should be it. Do not twist the wires before putting in the wire nuts; let the nuts twist them tight. Also, do not use push-in connections; put wires around the screws.

I have an old house with only two wires coming to each outlet and switch, and no ground. Can I ground this system?

Yes, in one of several ways. The simplest method is to add a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) at the beginning of each circuit. Find the first receptacle in the circuit (the one first in line from the breaker or fuse panel) and hook it to the "line" side of the GFCI. Then connect the wire going to the remaining outlets on that circuit to the "load" side of the device. Now you can replace all the remaining outlets on that circuit with regular three-prong grounded outlets. These work well for all outlets except for major appliances like refrigerators.

If you have metal armored cable that contains the wires to the box, you can install three-prong receptacles and ground them in the following manner. First, with the power disconnected, replace the two-prong outlets with three-prong. Connect a green jumper wire (which you can buy with a screw already mounted in it at hardware stores) from the green grounding nut on the new receptacle to the box. Screw the jumper wire into the 10/32 threaded hole in the box. Make sure the armored cable is firmly attached by a metal clamp inside the box. If the box has no threaded hole, you will have to drill a hole only slightly smaller than the screw and drive the screw in tight.

If the wires are not in armored cable, you cannot ground them according to code. Use the GFCI as detailed above.

I am adding a dishwasher to my older home. Does it need its own circuit or can I just connect it to the existing wiring above the countertop?

A dishwasher should have its own circuit, separate from the two individual appliance circuits that should be above your countertop. Although you may see dishwashers connected to existing wiring in older homes, the problem really lies in the breaker or fuse. In older homes, the breaker or fuse may not be as functional as current ones. Thus, if your dishwasher overloads the circuit, the older breaker or fuse may not pop, and your wiring will heat up to dangerous levels.

Can I add a phone line to my house by myself?

You can install two separate phone lines from your existing wiring if you already have relatively modern telephone wiring. Phone wiring is low voltage, but if the phone rings while you are holding a wire, you will get a jolt. So go outside to the phone service box, open the right-hand side, and disconnect line one and line two. Next, remove the cover on the phone jack in your house and look at the wires. If you have at least four wires visible, you can add a second line.

On older systems, you should see a black, yellow, green, and red wire. Line one uses green and red; line two is black and yellow. The wires in the jack are probably already connected. If not, strip off a half inch of the plastic coating on the end of the unconnected wires and fasten them under the two unused screws. (If your phone doesn't work later, just reverse the two wires.) Purchase a splitter and a phone cord that has at least four wires in it—red, green, black, and yellow—at your local phone store. Connect the outside wires again, then plug the splitter into the jack and the two phone cords into the splitter. Now call the phone company and tell them you are ready for a second line.

If you have newer phone lines, you will see the following wires: blue and blue stripe (line one), orange and orange stripe (line two), green and green stripe, and black and black stripe, which are extra pairs. In this case follow this color code system: blue wire to red terminal and blue stripe to green terminal for line one. (That should be in place already.) For line two, connect the orange wire to the yellow terminal and the orange striped wire to the black terminal.

How can I remove a stuck and broken lightbulb?

First, unplug the lamp from the receptacle or, if a ceiling fixture, make sure the switch is off. Usually you can grasp the broken lightbulb base with a pair of needlenose pliers and turn it to remove it. If the bulb is stuck, push the end of a potato into the socket and turn it out that way.

I want to install a new light switch. Does it matter which wire goes to which screw? I thought the hot wire went to the gold screw and the neutral wire to the silver screw.

You are confusing a receptacle with a switch. Before working on a receptacle or switch, make sure the power to that area is completely off. On receptacles—not switches—the black (hot) wire goes to the gold screw and the white (neutral) wire goes to the silver. There should be a third (green) screw for the bare copper grounding wire.

Switches that control one light are called single pole switches. They have only two screws, and it doesn't matter which wire goes to which screw. (Older wiring may have only two wires, both in black fabric.)

A three-way switch, however, is different. (See below for further explanation.)

I want a switch at the top and bottom of the stairs to control one light. How do I do this?

Three-way switches that control a light fixture from two different locations are always used in pairs, such as at each end of a room with two exits or at the top and bottom of stairs. Each switch is readily identifiable by its three screws and because it has no on/off lettering on the switch. Two of the screws are either brass or silver colored, and the third is black or copper colored. Using them requires what is called three-wire cable plus a ground. You cannot use two-wire with a ground, commonly called by its trade name, Romex, for this purpose. The wiring is more complex and requires the novice to follow diagrams.

What's a "switch loop" and how does it work?

In a switch loop, the hot and neutral wires arrive at the light fixture before reaching the switch. If you simply connected the wires from the light to the switch, the light would always be on. To make a switch loop, connect the incoming hot (black) wire to the white neutral wire that runs to the switch. Mark the white wire at each end with black tape or black paint to indicate it is hot. Now the incoming white neutral wire is attached to the light fixture, as usual, and the black wire from the switch is connected to the light fixture. In this way, the hot wire initially bypasses the fixture, then loops through the switch and back to the fixture.

Why does my smoke alarm keep beeping?

If the beep is every few minutes, your battery is probably running low. If it's a photoelectric design, you also could have a bit of dust and dirt in the unit, which might cause a malfunction. Clean it and check the battery.

My kitchen range is wired with aluminum wire and is connected directly to the house's copper electrical wire. Is this safe? What's the problem with aluminum wire?

The main problem with aluminum wiring is that it expands and contracts more than copper. If you have a loose connection, there is greater chance for electrical arcing, heat buildup, and possibly fire. Aluminum cable is still used quite frequently in sizes 6 and larger. The thing to look for (with the power off) is that the lugs (terminals) connecting the aluminum wire to the copper are suitable for copper or aluminum. They should bear the letters "cu/al." If the lugs are copper only, replace them. The ends of aluminum wires should be dipped in Penetrox, an antioxidant compound, before being attached to the copper wire in the cu/al lug.

I want to connect a new ceiling fan, but there are only two wires and a ground wire coming out of the ceiling. But my fan has a black, white, and a red wire. What is the red for?

The red wire allows you to turn on the fan without the lights, or the lights without the fan, assuming you have a stacked switch with the fan. To make this work right, you would need three wires (black, white, and red, plus ground) from the ceiling fixture down to the switch. But since you only have two wires in your ceiling box, the wall switch will turn on both lights and fan together. You can attach a chain beneath the fan to control the lights or fan separately, if you wish.

Two of the four outlets in my bedroom won't work. What's up?

Turn the circuit off and inspect each receptacle. Receptacles are often wired with the push-in method in the backs of them rather than using screws. Wires connected by the push-in method can become loose. Remove the wires from the back and attach them to the receptacle screws. If that doesn't work, try new receptacles.

How can I stop my fluorescent lights from buzzing?

The buzz is caused by the ballast (transformer) in the lighting fixture. Most residential fixtures use magnetic ballasts that operate at 60 hertz, which creates audible humming and flickering. Your solution is to replace the magnetic ballast with electronic ballast, which operates at 20,000 to 40,000 hertz—essentially continuously. This completely eliminates humming and flickering.

The electronic ballasts only work with the new thinner diameter fluorescent tubes, called T-8s.

If you convert your fixture to electronic ballasts and T-8 lamps, you will notice a huge improvement in quality. No more humming and flickering—and much better color rendition from the higher quality T-8s.

My fluorescent bulbs are dim and won't get brighter. Why?

If you are sure that the lamps are good, then check to see if the two incoming wires, black and white, are making a good connection. First, turn off the power to that light, and then remove the cover in the center of the fixture. If the connections are tight and the lights still don't work properly, you will need to replace the ballast. That's the black rectangular box with probably six wires coming out of it. Basically, you will just cut the wires off the old ballast and connect the wires from the new one with wire nuts. Just match the colors. You can get ballasts and small wire nuts at any home improvement store.