oww-is-that-hot?

Haven't Been on the forum in quite awhile but i'm glad to be back. Here's the problem...
my Jw -i'm the apprentice- its too old school for the forum. Nonetheless, he wants me to ask a question.
He can't fugue out why a group of lights turns on when he breaks the neutral with the switch off. It works totally fine other than that. switch on: lights on, switch off: lights off, break neutral: lights on. any ideas would be great. There's a hole lot of lights and he's the type of guy that'll be up all night thinking about it.

sparkybac

The lights are 240V.

noarcflash

3 way switch wired wrong.

sparkybac

If the switch is off, he breaks the neutral and the lights come on, as you said. If the switch is ON and he breaks the neutral, do the lights stay on or turn off?

oww-is-that-hot?

Actually,I don't know what they do when neutral is broken while on. But they're is no 3 way switch and the circuit is 277... Appreciate the responses

Big John

I'd start with the assumption that just because the wire is white, doesn't mean it's the neutral.

-John

Ontariojer

Mwbc. Picking up another Phase/leg through another load.
You're welcome.

wildleg

what i don't understand is why this is a problem

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oww-is-that-hot?

because the switch is off. Lights should not come on no matter what when switch is off correct?

oww-is-that-hot?

I'll run that by him, thank you

oww-is-that-hot?

It HAS to be something you wouldn't normally think of, the guy has ate slept and crapped electricity since he was 15. But maybe it is something simple. The poor guy has got alot on his plate, he's constantly running 3-4 different medium/large commercial jobs at a time with a newborn at home so sometimes things get past him.

Aussielec

Considering the total lack of details you have given it would be almost impossible for any anyone to answer this... I'm wondering where in the circuit did he break the neutral....

My guess would be the light neutral he broke was somehow also being used for a relay or contactor that was controlling the active supply to the lights, maybe through N/C contacts... the neutral that he broke was used as the coil neutral and somehow looped back through the lights...

oww-is-that-hot?

I wouldn't say a total lack of details but ok, I don't know where he's breaking the neutral, sorry. Is a row of lights, with a switch. 277v. There is a night light in the center of the row and an emergency light at the end. Shared neutral. That's all I got for you right now.

oww-is-that-hot?

But thanks for the reply

Aussielec

No worries thought I'd put the idea out anyway.... Sounds like a very interesting problem your Traddie's got there... Keep us posted anyway ..

oww-is-that-hot?

Will do.

Big John

What doesn't make sense about that is if the switch for the lights is open, there'd be no path to complete the MWBC.

I agree that if the lights were running, and lifting the neutral failed to turn them off, that could be the solution.

-John

k_buz

That was my question too...I know how you would get voltage on the white, but how the black turned into the return path with the switch turned off.

HARRY304E

So the neutral from the night-light circuit are spliced together?

"Shared neutral."

You are back feeding through the neutral in the night-light.

Separate the two neutral circuits in the night-light and I'll bet that is the problem.

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HARRY304E

I think they are using the neutral as the switch leg.

When he opens it at the switch box it picks up the neutral in the night-light

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