Posted: 9/14/2026 2:29:54 AM EDT
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I was upgrading some light switches from old-school toggles to smart switches and long story short...there's a short. Basically the 12/3 romex that goes from the main switch to the aux switch has a nail in it or something so that when the traveler wire is powered so is the neutral. Obviously in an old toggle switch, a neutral isn't used but with the newer smart switches, it needs a neutral. I'm on a crawl space and plan to run a new wire over to the aux switch. The old wire runs through the ceiling and would be a bitch to get to. The problem is, I'm running out of room in the electrical boxes. Can I just pull the dead wire out and leave it dangling in the drywall, or does it still need to terminate in the box? |
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What are you calling an "aux" switch? If you mean the second switch in a 3way switch circuit (guessing due to mentioning 12/3), I would caution that those are notorious for being wired in ways a non-electrician would struggle to understand. IME, 3way switches are never wired how they are supposed to be. If there is a short with the smart switch, there would also be a short with a standard toggle. The neutral may not run through the switch, but it is still required and used in the circuit. |
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SoNNNNNN! Does your multimeter have a low impedence LoZ option? I’d use that and check each wire out. Might help you figure out for sure if you have a short or perhaps just ghost voltage? Note: I am definitely not an electrician. I just got a new multimeter in Aug and it has that feature. I didn’t know what LoZwas and watched a video that explained it to me. |
The Emperor is naked.
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Originally Posted By ARAMP1: Can I just pull the dead wire out and leave it dangling in the drywall, or does it still need to terminate in the box? Can? Sure, but disconnect both ends, not just at the problem box. Then twist all conductors together and install a wire nut. |
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Originally Posted By DD1801: SoNNNNNN! Does your multimeter have a low impedence LoZ option? I’d use that and check each wire out. Might help you figure out for sure if you have a short or perhaps just ghost voltage? Note: I am definitely not an electrician. I just got a new multimeter in Aug and it has that feature. I didn’t know what LoZwas and watched a video that explained it to me. SoNNNNNNN! na, straight up full 120VAC...no one was more shocked than I! I found it odd that the white wire was used as the traveler (there was no neutral in the aux switch box) and the red wire was cut back pretty short and capped. With this being an older house, I've come across some definitely odd ways of doing things. I had the whole ceiling fan off and both gang boxes emptied and just redid the whole thing. |
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Originally Posted By crazyelece: What are you calling an "aux" switch? An actual (main or mechanical) switch directly controls the electrical load to turn lights on and off, while an accessory (or auxiliary) switch connects via traveler wires to signal the main switch in a multi-location setup. |
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Originally Posted By ARAMP1: SoNNNNNNN! na, straight up full 120VAC...no one was more shocked than I! I found it odd that the white wire was used as the traveler (there was no neutral in the aux switch box) and the red wire was cut back pretty short and capped. With this being an older house, I've come across some definitely odd ways of doing things. I had the whole ceiling fan off and both gang boxes emptied and just redid the whole thing. Reminds me of the time my brother bought a house and the basement drop ceiling grid was energized with a full 120V.  Idiot who lived there before was pulling cheap romex across the drop ceiling and the hot wire scraped against a sharp edge and energized it. The ceiling wasn't grounded anywhere, so it just sat at full potential for who knows how long.
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: Reminds me of the time my brother bought a house and the basement drop ceiling grid was energized with a full 120V. Idiot who lived there before was pulling cheap romex across the drop ceiling and the hot wire scraped against a sharp edge and energized it. The ceiling wasn't grounded anywhere, so it just sat at full potential for who knows how long.Sounds like my house. I go to replace a bulb in a fixture for the first time in the 10 years of living in the house. Of course I don't turn off the light just to unscrew the old bulb and screw in the new one. It's a hanging fixture, so I grab it and shock the shit out of myself. |
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