This is a typical wiring setup for a 3 way light switch with black white red and ground wires. From what you have described the existing switch is a three way switch.
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What is the white wire in a light switch. The hot wire in a 120 volt residential ac circuit usually is coated with black insulation while the return or neutral wire is white. But sometimes a white wire is in fact. Hook up the ground wire to the box and then to the switch. The bare hopefully solid copper wire is the ground. This type of switch lets you turn the light off or on from more than one place in the room. The black hot connection is broken to turn the light onoff the white neutral connection completes the circuit.
Push the switch into the box and screw it in. If it doesnt work switch the lower wires. If the wiring does not appear to be correct then the wiring should be traced out and identified and corrections made as needed. Twist the two copper wires in the first box together and attach them to the ground nut on the switch. If there is a grounding terminal now simply hook the black wire to the bottom terminal and the white wire to the top terminal. I thought white wires were not suppose to be connected or attached to a light switch you said.
The 2011 national electrical code required a neutral in every switch box to accommodate new devices like motion sensors occupancy. At the light it connects to the neutral terminal. Of course the black wire is connected to the fixture and the ground is spliced to another ground wire at the fixture. Well most of the time you are correct in your thinking. The source neutral wire is spliced to the neutral on the receptacle half of the combo device and to the white cable wire running to the light. It protects from static build up and from electrical insulation failure in short its only job is to make your home safer.
In your switch box you will only have one black one white and one ground wire. Two wire cable runs from the combo to the light fixture and the switch output is connected to the black wire running to the fixture hot terminal. Going out of both boxes and into your light fixture will be 143 wire which has a black wire hot a white wire neutral a red wire traveler and a bare copper wire ground. White wires are often used for switching however the white wire should then be identified with black electrical tape or a permanent marker. A three way switch is different. A single pole single throw switch such as a light switch.
White and gray wires are normally used as neutral conductors. When wiring 110 volt wire to 5 light fixtures in series do i connect the white wire to the fixture or splice to another white wire at each fixture.
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