I'm replacing some lights in my kitchen and came across this mess. I know there are several things wrong here but why is the white wire connected to the black ones? I'm no electrician, so dumb it down for me

 

If there is a 3 way switch ( switches for the lights in two locations ) then it's common to use the white as a "hot" wire to bridge the two switches.

Not technically legal ( now anyway ) but not unusual.

 

hmm, I guess that explains the other switch in the kitchen that I never knew what it went to.

 

Legal, to my understanding, when it has a piece of black electrical tape wrapped around it within the box to indicate it is being used as a hot wire.

 

it's legal to use any color wire as another hot, as long as you identify it as such...usually by wrapping the end in black electrical tape.

 

I think you guys are missing it. It looks like the photo is of the box to which the light itself was attached. If so, let me break it down for you.

The jacketed cable coming in at top left goes to the light switch. One of the other three jacketed cables is the source of power (always on) and the other two are power feeds to other areas (outlets, other switched lights, etc.).

The black wires bundled together are the hot side of the circuit and the white wires bundled together are the neutral side.

The lone white wire bundled into the black bundle is the hot side feed to the light switch The lone black wire coming back with it and labelled "to light" is the hot wire coming back to the light from the switch. It is only hot when the switch is turned on.

The other connection for the light is the white wire bundle.

That wiring is in poor condition. It looks like there has been some overloading or shorting going on either there in the box or downline as the insulation appears discolored from heat although that may have happened when the previous wiring monkey soldered those connections.

IF there is some slack in the jacketed cables, I would pull some of it into the box. Cut off the old ends of the wire back to where the insulation is not split. Restrip the wires expoxing fresh unoxidized copper wires and reconnect as in the photo as it should be correct.

 

There are a million local codes, so you're right, I shouldn't have made a blanket statement.

It doesn't meet code here anymore, though it used to.

 

[QUOTE=SheDrivesIt,Dec 17 2009, 07:41 AM]
The lone white wire bundled into the black bundle is the hot side feed to the light switch