[chicken steve]

Senario>

switch to luminaire (that's French for the translator challenged)

luminaire (a fan/light) has integral switches

but the switch really doesn't do anything anymore, the luminaire is operable by the integral switching (pullchains)

Clues>

the wiring is all antiquated BX

It looks as if the darker wires are all made together in the switch box......


~CS~

 

[wildleg]

Senario>

switch to luminaire (that's French for the translator challenged)

luminaire (a fan/light) has integral switches

but the switch really doesn't do anything anymore, the luminaire is operable by the integral switching (pullchains)

Clues>

the wiring is all antiquated BX

It looks as if the darker wires are all made together in the switch box......


~CS~

Scenario - forum question

Clues - clues yes, question no

Question - ?

 

[chicken steve]

The single pole switch that used to operate the F/L doesn't matter anymore, doesn't matter if it's in the open or closed position for the fan's integral switch(s) to operate it

~CS~

 

[Rollie73]

Scenario - forum question

Clues - clues yes, question no

Question - ?

Its chickenman dude...........read between the lines. Or maybe do a few lines.....he makes perfect sense then.:laughing:


Antiquated BX cable is shorted. Switch loop is now obsolete.

 

[Pete m.]

The single pole switch that used to operate the F/L doesn't matter anymore, doesn't matter if it's in the open or closed position for the fan's integral switch(s) to operate it

~CS~

If the fans integral switches now are in control, I would venture a guess that the SP switch is constantly in the closed position? i.g. a defective switch?

Pete

p.s. I'm sorta, kinda, pickin' up on th "chicken-ese"... I think.

Pete

 

[chicken steve]

The first clue was all the darker wires tied together

Old Bx, as you know, ends up all grey. One has to strip it back to reveal the original color of the cloth wire.

So whoever wired the place (2 generations ago) was switching noodles. (i had thought blown switch first too)

All hots having been tied together resulted in the luminaire having a constant hot .

The switched noodle recently became ineffective when the shell of the BX assumed the return path , completing the circuit.

But just how this occurred is the interesting part......

A panel upgrade ,i figure somewhere around 1980 or so, resulted in mostly modern thermoplastic wiring advancing out from it, very little BX being seen in the cellar...

When the furnace was upgraded, the plumber brought a groundING conductor to it , effectively creating a return path .....which means that somewhere else said BX was either making into a waterborn appliance (dishwasher?) or simply laying against copper plumbing

~CS~

 

[99cents]

The first clue was all the darker wires tied together

Old Bx, as you know, ends up all grey. One has to strip it back to reveal the original color of the cloth wire.

So whoever wired the place (2 generations ago) was switching noodles. (i had thought blown switch first too)

All hots having been tied together resulted in the luminaire having a constant hot .

The switched noodle recently became ineffective when the shell of the BX assumed the return path , completing the circuit.

But just how this occurred is the interesting part......

A panel upgrade ,i figure somewhere around 1980 or so, resulted in mostly modern thermoplastic wiring advancing out from it, very little BX being seen in the cellar...

When the furnace was upgraded, the plumber brought a groundING conductor to it , effectively creating a return path .....which means that somewhere else said BX was either making into a waterborn appliance (dishwasher?) or simply laying against copper plumbing

~CS~

That's scary. And what's even scarier is I understood everything you said .