It could be there is or once was a three way switch in play. Connecting a two wire light fixture to a three wire power supply cable is not an ordinary occurrence.
Switch With 2 Black 2 White 2 Ground And 1 Red Wire
2 red wires to a light switch. 4 way switches have 4 screws 2 will be black and 2 will be brass. Usually a twin red cable implies a switch wire consisting of a permanent live and a switch return wire. Currently in the connector block both red wires are in separate terminals. Dont worry about having two reds and a black this is quite normal. Well cover the easier scenario first. The exact purpose of a red wire for a light fixture can vary.
Except in rare cases it is a hot wire or a switched hot wire. The red wire from the light is connected to the output on the switch and to the hot terminal on the light at the other end. The lighting could be added to the three wire cable provided that the circuit breaker is no more than 15 amps and the wire size is no greater than 14 gauge. In my friends case the solution was simple if not intuitive. But in places like a bathroom or a wall light if you see a red wire its a good bet that the red wire is the wire thats connected to the light switch. Source 2 comes in at the combo device where the hot and neutral wires are connected to their corresponding terminals on the receptacle half of the device.
No there are no other wires present each cable for each light is simply twin and earth and it is just this one cable in question which is two reds and earth. Rf lighting 21 nov 2010. Three wire supply cables generally carry red and black hot wires of 110 to 120 volts each with a single white neutral wire. Red and black form the same cable will connect ot he brass screws then the red and black from the other cable will connect ot he black screws. Normally youll see a red wire in places you would expect a ceiling fan. So the red wire is probably the one you want.
Therefore the hot wire is connected directly to the fixture. You will have to get a 4 way switch for that position not a 3 way switch. Check the wire with a non contact voltage tester with the power and. Or it could be the red wire is the wire going to the fixture and the black wires are the live wires. Yep just transfer the wires across to the new switch connecting them to the same terminals as they are now. When you see a red wire in a light switch box it can mean two things.
Gallery of 2 Red Wires To A Light Switch
/electrical-cable-cut-in-half-6466-000129-59fb9bf889eacc003793dac7.jpg)
