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How To Replace A Broken Light Switch

  
  
  

light switchAt a customer's house today, her son came tearing around the corner and slammed his hand into the light switch to turn it on...all it did was break it. Light switches are cheap. For the most part, they are made from plastic with metal terminals for the wiring contacts. We generally aren't easy on them either. How many times have you slammed your hand into the switch expecting it to perform over and over again? Probably as many times as I have. Well, those cheap plastic switches do break but it's pretty easy to replace it with a new one.

This switch was a single pole, meaning it controlled a fixture from a single location. Three-way switches control a fixture from two different locations, and four-way switches control a set of lights from 3 or more locations.

Make sure you turn off the power to the location from the main electrical panel, and then remove the switch plate and finally pull out the switch from the box. Buy an replacement switch with the same number of screw terminals and wire it just like it came out. I don't advise using the push-in fittings on the switch, rather wrap the wire  around the screw terminal. With a push-in fitting, you simply push the wire into the hole and it makes contact, however these fittings just don't seem to give the secure contact that wrapping the screw terminal does.

For this single-pole switch there are only 2 wires to connect. If you have 2 cables entering the box (meaning that the switch is in the middle of the run), you will have 2 black wires to connect to the brass screw terminals. If you have only one cable entering the box (meaning this switch lies at the end of the run), you will have a black and white wire connecting to the switch, although the white wire may have a piece of black tape at the end to signify it is actually hot (normally a white wire is neutral). You may also have a green screw on the switch for a ground wire, but the ground wire may be grounded to the box that holds the switch.

Make tight connections and secure the switch to the box and finally re-install the coverplate.

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