Shop electrical problems

[midnight sun]

Hopefully I can explain this like I want/need too.  It pertains to lighting in my new shop.
I had an electrician rough in the electric and I am now attempting to finish the job which amounts to wiring all of the receptacles and installing/wiring 9 fluorescent lights.

I have successfully wired and tested all of the receptacles.  Everything works fine.  I started doing the lights today.  At the gang box for the lights (a 3 switch box) there are 5-3 wire romex cables coming in.  One is the source wire.  One comes from the outdoor man door light, two more are from the 9 lights (to be run by 2 switches) and frankly, I'm not sure where the other one goes.  The source black wire and the black wire from the one I'm not sure about are wire nutted together and then three pigtails come out of that.   I connected one wire to each of the 3 switches.  The other 3 black wires I have going to the other side of the switch.  All white wires are wire nutted together.  All grounds are wire nutted together.  All switches work as they are suppose to i.e.  No power when the switch is off and power at both terminals of the switch when it is on.  One operates the outside man door light as it should and the other two are suppose to light the 9 lights.  I don't have the lights up yet, just the romex hanging down.  The lights are in 3 rows.  Furthest away from the switches is a row of 3.  If I turn one switch on, all three cables have power.  The middle row has 3.  Neither switch will give any of them any power.  The closet row to the switches has 2.   One has juice and the other does not.  I've turned all three switches on and still get the same result.  The one entire row has juice, the middle row has none, and the last row has juice to one but not the other.  I admit I'm not an electrician but I am pretty sure I know the basics but this has got me stumped.

I've read a reread the above and I think I've said what I wanted to but I guess you folks will be the judge.  Any ideas?  I've already called the electrician and explained it to him but he cant come out until Monday and I am antsy to get this done.

[jaybee]

Any ideas?

Yup, pretty sure the rough-in electrician screwed it up.

You know which wires go to your doorway light and which wires go to the lights that work, so you're good there.  I'd say kill the circuit, then start poking around.  Go to one of the lights that doesn't work and wire nut the black and white wires together.  Put a VOM on the bundle of whites and one black to check continuity.  Take the wire nut off the place where you tied the black and white together, then try it again at another dead spot.  Not sure what to tell you about the leg that goes somewhere but you don't know where.  Unhook it and see what happens.  If the wiring is only roughed in I'm not sure I'd leave any power on that line until I figured out where it goes.

Then again I'm not an electrician so be cautious with my advice.  Everything I've wired works and I'm careful about codes and details, but I always try to be extra cautious just because I'm not an electrician.

[40 Chev]

Just a guess here, but you have 2 switches so that you can turn on the only a couple of lights at a time, I assume that the row of two would be on one switch and the other six would be on the other. The normal way would be to run power to one ceiling box and then loop from there to the next and so on. If you only have one wire in each ceiling box then they must be joined together in another jumction box probably in the attic and you'll have to locate it and check all the connections. However if you more than one wire in any of the ceiling boxes then it's just a matter of joining the blacks and whites together to get power to the other lights.

This just a guess and hope I don't send you on a wild goose chase.

[midnight sun]

Just a guess here, but you have 2 switches so that you can turn on the only a couple of lights at a time, I assume that the row of two would be on one switch and the other six would be on the other. The normal way would be to run power to one ceiling box and then loop from there to the next and so on. If you only have one wire in each ceiling box then they must be joined together in another jumction box probably in the attic and you'll have to locate it and check all the connections. However if you more than one wire in any of the ceiling boxes then it's just a matter of joining the blacks and whites together to get power to the other lights.

This just a guess and hope I don't send you on a wild goose chase.

Thats exactly how I figured it.  When I started there were only 2 places where there was a single piece of romex.  I figured those to be the end run on each circuit.  Everything else was just a loop hanging down so I figured, like you, that the loops were just a continuation to the end.  I cut each loop and prepared to start hoolking up the lights (blacks to blacks and whites to whites) when I ran into the problem.  Ill do some more
testing tomorrow and see what I can come up with.  Thanks for the input.

[midnight sun]

Not sure what to tell you about the leg that goes somewhere but you don't know where.  Unhook it and see what happens.  If the wiring is only roughed in I'm not sure I'd leave any power on that line until I figured out where it goes.


Yeah the mystery one is kinda weird.  Im sure there is a reason though.  Im not leaving any power on to anything until I get everything figured out.  Thanks for you input.

[SKR8PN]

Not sure what to tell you about the leg that goes somewhere but you don't know where.  Unhook it and see what happens.  If the wiring is only roughed in I'm not sure I'd leave any power on that line until I figured out where it goes.


Yeah the mystery one is kinda weird.  Im sure there is a reason though.  Im not leaving any power on to anything until I get everything figured out.  Thanks for you input.

Just for the heck of it,have you checked your outlets for power with the switches on or off?? He may have run a leg from a few of your outlets and they may be switched. Still doesn't explain the one dead leg to your lights though.

[40 Chev]

Just had another thought (can you smell the smoke), by chance did he put a switch at the other end of your shop if so that would explain a lot, as well you'll need 3 way switches, be careful of your whites he may be using one for power if there is no reds present.

[midnight sun]

Just had another thought (can you smell the smoke), by chance did he put a switch at the other end of your shop if so that would explain a lot, as well you'll need 3 way switches, be careful of your whites he may be using one for power if there is no reds present.

Nope no extra switches.  I did some other stuff today, painted some trim etc.  Kind of resigned myself to waiting until Monday.  That way I can just leave the power off until then and not worry about burning the place down not to mention getting more frustrated cuz i cant find the problem.  Thanks again for the input.

[Bib_Overalls]

So, did you get it all worked out?

[midnight sun]

So, did you get it all worked out?

Sure did.  Well I didnt but the electrician came over today.  Took him about 5 minutes but he discovered that he had left one of the romex cables up in the attic and had not shoved it through the hole. All is well now.  For once I wasnt the dunce!!!

Later

[58 Yeoman]

You don't suppose that it was planned that way, do you?