I try to offer as much exhaustive detail as possible to avoid any guessing or assumptions. I know it can be frustrating to take on a project and not have all the answers ahead of time. I'm pleased to hear that you felt my video was better than the Home Depot video!

Awesome! Glad I could help you save $98.

Yes. Thank you as well. Saved me a ton of $$. Thank you

Your Vid saved me at least $125. Thank you much...

Yeah I charge 175 to replace

Those two black wires you showed, could that go either of the screws?

Wendy Jaques I aim to please. Be safe and have fun with your side hustle.

Be careful. You're don't want to get in trouble for miswiring switches that have unsafe conditions. You don't need a license to wire your own house, but the whole concept of having a license is so you can charge for services. As a result they have codes to follow. When you sidestep the codes, you open yourself up to getting sued if something goes wrong (such as an electrical fire), even if it wasn't technically your fault. Aluminum wiring might fall into that category. or not tightening the wires enough could land you in hot water. Be careful.

@@iREZARECTEM dude I'm pretty sure she was just kidding lol

@@iREZARECTEM you took it seriously?

@@skorpyonayts1169 , As serious as a heart attack. I wanted to make it a side hustle lol

Big Dogg you’re welcome and thanks for watching!

Creative Monster thanks for watching!

Anyone?

Christopher Robin are you referring to the paddle switch that installed? The left two switches are both Luton. The Leviton paddle switch is a standard dumb (not smart) mechanical switch that will work with a incandescent, CFL, or LED light bulb. I am personally using this single pole paddle switch for an outdoor LED floodlight with a motion sensor.

Erik Asquith Yes, I am installing that same paddle switch. But, as I stated, it says on box “not for LED”, which happen to be the kind of bulbs that I changed over to from regular incandescent.

bill jones is the junction box made of plastic or metal? If it’s metal, the box may be grounded, and the screws from the switch would intern ground the switch. However, for the metal junction box to be ground you would either need a ground wire attached to the metal junction box or the use of metal clad cable (aka BX cable) connected using a metal connector.

If you have a red wire you likely have a 14-3 wire. This means that you should have a red and black wire that are both hot, a white which is neutral, and a bare or green wire which is ground. For example you could use a 14-3 wire with a two 3-pole switch and light setup or a ceiling fan where you would like to control the lights and fan independent with two separate switches. If your switch has two red wires and a ground wire or one red, one black, and a ground wire connected, you can swap them over to the new switch. However, before you change out your existing switch, make sure the screws are all brass colored screws, which typically indicates a single pole switch. If you have a black and brass screw, you likely have a 3-pole switch, and you'll need to replace it with a new 3-pole switch instead of a single pole switch.

Jason Craft the order does not matter on a single pole switch. The switch is just braking the flow of electricity when turned off, which will work regardless of the brass terminal you connect the hot and switched wires to.

Scott Truskowski either black wire can go to either brass screw on a single pole light switch. The light switch will operate correctly regardless of which brass screws the hot and switched wire are connected to. The bare copper ground wire should only go to the green screw.

What if one wire white and one green?

Yes

Soooo close!

rams714 rams714 yes they are. One black wire is the hot/line wire carrying power, the other is the switched wire going to the light. It does not matter which brass screw/terminal you connect the black wires to on a single pole switch, as long as you do not connect them to the green ground screw.

Rick Olson yes you can.

Deanne Biron the ground wire should always be fastened to a metal junction box, as in your case. The ground wire should also be fastened to each switch as well (which doesn’t appear to be the case for you). If the switch or outlet mounting straps are made of metal where the screws fastens them to the junction box, they would also be grounded, since the entire junction box is grounded via the ground wire (this is how the switches and outlets were all setup in my previous house built in 1941). However, if the switch or outlet is not securely mounted to the junction box, the ground may be poor or nonexistent (which a dedicated ground wire would solve). I have also seen both dumb and smart switches with plastic mounting straps where the screw goes through and would not be ground the switch by simply screwing it to the junction box. I suggest adding a ground wire to each switch and then using a wire nut to connect them all together to a pig tail (short piece of ground wire). Then you can connect the pig tail to the ground wire coming into the metal junction box, or attach it via a green ground screw to the junction box itself. This would meet the current code requirements and improve the (your) safety.

Jane Hyde is the electrical box metal or plastic? If the ground wire is connected to a metal box, then the switch will be grounded via the screws that fasten the switch to the metal box. However, if the ground wire comes in and is capped with a wire but, then it sounds like the box, if metal, isn’t grounded. You should see at least 2 bare copper wires in the box, assuming his is a single pole switch (meaning it’s not a 3-way switch). 1 bare copper wire should be coming into the box from the main (or likely another junction box down the line) and another bare copper wire should be going to the light fixture. The two bare copper wires should be connected together using a wire but and a pigtail (small 6 inch base copper wire) should be connected to that same wire nut and also connected to the ground screw on the light switch. This would ground the light fixture and the switch to the main load center. If you have a metal box, then another pigtail should be screwed to the actual metal box and connected to that same wire but to ground it. However, if you have a plastic box, this last requirement does not apply.

Erik Asquith I have no box behind my switch🤔 there is just a huge hole in the wall. Should I put a box in that hole?

Alpha Wolf the simple answer is that it doesn’t matter on a mechanical single pole switch. One black wire is the line wire/hot wire and the other is the switched wire connected to your light fixture. The switch is just allowing the flow of electricity from the line wire to the switched wire when turned on, and interrupting that flow of electricity when the switch is turned off. Since this is a standard dumb (not smart) mechanical single pole switch, you can attach either black wire to either terminal/screw/back wire on a single pole switch. Also, don’t forget to attach the bare copper ground wire to the green ground screw on the single pole switch to ground it.

Rita J I have a video showing how to install a screw-less wall plate here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mJOglraFub-lpKc.html When connecting the black wires to this particular switch you can either wrap them around the screw or back wire them. However, when connect the black wires using the back wiring method you can only insert a straight piece of wire under the little metal piece. On this particular switch you tighten down the screw to sandwich the wire between that little metal piece and the metal contacts underneath (which you cannot easily see in this video). If you would rather wrap the black wire clockwise around the screw like I did for the ground wire, you would wrap the black wires clockwise between the screw head and the little metal piece (you would NOT wrap the wire under the little metal piece). Once the black wire is wrapped around the screw clockwise, you would then tighten it down so the black wire is sandwiched between the screw and the little metal piece. Does this clarify things for you?

Erik Asquith thank you Erik! What about the question on the black wires curling around the screw I also mentioned above?? Really appreciate your responses!!

Rita J I answered your wiring question in the above comment as well.

oh lord. i was looking at it on my phone app at first and didn't scroll down to realize there was more written below the link you sent. My bad! SORRY! duh! :-/ Again, i really appreciate your help!!!!! i have about 100 total in outlet receptacles and light switches i'd like to change over from an ugly cream color (which reminds me of stained nicotine lol) to white, plus change my switches to rockers in the process. maybe even add a couple outlets with USBs too. Yesterday I had our local electricians come out Mr. Sparky here in Northwest Arkansas and he quoted me.... gulp*... $5000 ! So I really appreciate these videos. :)

totally clarifies it. just wondering though what the difference is between back wiring them and just wrapping them around the screw? is there a pro or a con to either?

had similar issue for me, have you figured it out ?

s1r3n1971 good question. If there is only one black or red wire (hot/line wire) and one white wire (neutral) in the junction box for a single pole switch, turning off the breaker and verifying the switch no longer turns on the light should typically be sufficient. However, if for some reason the bulb had failed right at that moment you had tested turning on the light switch to verify the correct breaker was turned off (and was not), the voltage detector would have been necessary. Another scenario where a voltage detector would be necessary is when you have other black or red wires and white wires in the same junction box - it’s possible that some other wires are controlled via a different breaker, thus some other switch, receptacle, etc. may still be energized/live/hot.

@@ErikAsquith is it dangerous to not have a volt detector and not shut off the power while changing it?

Domoo LeDay yes, there is certainly risk involved. Turning off the correct breaker is a must to avoid being electrocuted.

@@ErikAsquith I electrocuted myself 😂😂 I did something wrong cause it's not working right now.

No, the line and switched wires can be interchanged on a single-pole switch without introducing any issues.

👩‍🔧⚡

From safety and risk perspective I strongly encourage you or anyone else to turn off the breaker and verify that power is indeed off in the junction box that you'll be working in by using a non-contact voltage detector. If you do not turn off the breaker, there is a risk of electric shock that can cause your body harm, and could even result in death. So please be safe and turn off the breaker before working with electricity, and when in doubt, turn off the main breaker in your load center (main panel) to turn off the electricity to the entire dwelling.

You typically just need to turn off the breaker at the main or sub panel (if you have one) to cut the power going to the junction box for your light switch. However, If you are having trouble locating the correct breaker that cuts power to your light switch, or you think there are potentially other live wires in the same junction box, then shutting off the main breaker is recommend to be on the safe side.

@@ErikAsquith ok will do

Danni Lynn the current national electric code (NEC) requires a light switch to be grounded. It is needed for safety, but as you probably already know, the light switch will still function without the ground. I recommend connecting the the ground to your light switch or contacting an electrician to verify the ground is properly connected all the way back to the electrical panel ground bus. Good luck and thanks for watching!

Jacobs monroe what color wires does a regular switch have?

@@ErikAsquith my single pole switch has white, green, and black.

Jacobs monroe white is the neutral wire. Typically single pole switches do not use neutral wires. Given that you only have a single black wire, your white wire is either acting as your hot or switched wire. If an electrician performed this switch install, they should have marked the white wire with a piece of black electrical tape to make anyone aware that the white wire is not acting as a normal neutral wire, and is instead, hot.

@@ErikAsquith Thank you.

It would not be safe to undo the ground, line, or switched wire prior to turning off the breaker. Prior to switching off the breaker you should 1. use a non-contact voltage detector to verify that the switch or receptacle is live (this will confirm that your non-contact voltage detector is working to begin with) 2. switch off the breaker 3. use a non-contact voltage detector to confirm that the switch or receptacle is NOT live (you could turn on your switch, or plug in a working lamp to the receptacle to verify that they are NOT live, but that does not technically confirm that all wires, switches, and receptacles that in sharing the same junction box are NOT live, unless the only wires in the junction box are directly connected to switch or receptible you plan on removing/replacing) 4. disconnect line, switched, neutral (if in use) and then ground wire (assuming you can determine your line and switched wire, but if not, I recommend removing the ground last to maintain ground continuity while handing the line, switched , and potential neutral wires)

@@ErikAsquith I asked because I don't have that tester. I'll play it safe and get one. Thanks for the reply. I just did my kitchen over and have to change the face plates and switches to match the color. ⚡👍🏻

Los Hijos De Miguel yes, you always want to wrap the stripped copper wire around the screw clockwise.

@@ErikAsquith thank you

Amitt Ramgattee no, a ground is not necessary for a light switch to function. However, it is mandatory per national electric code (as well as your local code) for safety.

If i have a neutral do I need to just cover it up ?

Unfortunately no, you would need to replace the entire switch. Most switches are ultrasonically welded and are not serviceable.

@@ErikAsquith Thank you. I appreciate it!

Victor dARKO yes, I had mentioned that you would need to turn off the circuit breaker 21 seconds into the video.

Erik Asquith haha ok i fast forwarded the beginning. Thank you for replying

cavewomaninil good question. The new switch has a different style back wire option then the old switch, which is what I had used. If the new switch had the same back wire design as the old switch, then that’s what I probably would have used. However, the new switch back wire option is not as fast to install the wires (which can just be pushed in on the old switch), but the new switch back wire design is a bit more secure and can’t be pulled out by twisting the switch back and forth as you pull the wire out. I should probably do a video showing all the different variations in switch wiring options.

Exactly what I was wondering. I guess guessed. Haven't tried it yet. Kinda scared. Lol

Thank you!!!! You saved me!

Jeff, how would you transition a pre 2011 switch to the new grounding standard.

Unless you want to be shocked

😂😂😂

Lol yes sweetheart

Time change is this guys ultimate nemesis

Is it possible that the switch is upside down and you can flip it right side up?

I have a separate video available showing the installation of the face plate kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mJOglraFub-lpKc.html

@@ErikAsquith I see you already have them all aligned properly both side to side and in and out. That's where I run into difficulty.

Did you do this? How did you find the neutral outlet? I hace a bunch of neutrals tied up. How can I tell which is the one for my switch? Or any would work?

hmmm i found another video that shows how to cut the screws with my stripper tool. : )

Joyce : quick and easy replacement. The only issue I had was removing the wires from the old switch. I twisted and turned as he instructed

is this because you had them come out partially or fully?

@@ErikAsquith 1 they come out easily. 2 (more of a plug than light switch thing) if you try to use them with the rated amperage they just melt

What kind of products do you have?

I am having similar issue. Not falling off yet but the rocker itself starts to warp. Looks terrible. Not sure if it can be bent back or need new switch. they do look better, at least for a while.

@@NealCorbett1 It starts by warping, then eventually will just bend right off.

mooky what else would you have liked to seen in the video? Were there specific differences with your light switch wiring that you needed more detail on?

@@ErikAsquith the guy didn't even answer lol