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Why doesn't my light switch have power after replacing the adjacent outlet?

Home Improvement Asked by JukEboX on September 25, 2021

My house is 125 years old. I bought it 3 years ago. I am trying to upgrade a wall socket and a light switch in the same wall mounted metal box. I took the old wall socket out which was pretty new and the light switch for my kitchen light/fan which was about 60 years old. When taking it all out I found a white copper jumper wire connected from the socket to one of the 2 screws on the old light switch. I put in my new socket and light switch without the jumper wire and turned the power back on. The socket works and is wired correctly per my socket tester but there is no power to the light switch or the light/fan.

I tried to put in the jumper wire from the gold screw on the socket to the black screw on the light switch. Again socket wired correctly but still no power from to the light switch or the light/fan.

I tried a different copper wire for the jump with still no success.

The socket is a Leviton 2 power & 2 USB power socket. The Switch is a Leviton 3 way light switch.

Can anyone tell me why I have no power to my light switch or my light/fan?

Adding Picture:
Box

One Answer

It sounds like you have just 2 wires going to the light/fan combo...ie, the switch was wired incorrectly the first time. The switch completes a circuit or path for power. You ideally need to send power to the light/fan combo hot, with one of those wires back as a switched hot. Disconnect power at breaker (fuse panel), disconnect the switch and leave the wires free for this test. If you have a non-contact voltage tester (they sure are handy) then you can turn power back on. Test for live "hot" power at the 2 wires that were connected to the switch with non-contact or check the leads to ground with a volt meter to determine which one is the feed/source wire. No power? Disconnect power again, you need to connect one of those wires to the neutral side of the outlet, and the other to the switch. Now you need to "jumper" hot (line) side of the outlet to the switches other terminal.

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Answered by Jeff Cates on September 25, 2021

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