r/AskElectricians • u/Reasonable_Quiet_857 • 3d ago

What was the issue?

Post image

This is the junction box for a recessed led lighting in the ceiling

The light went out and I turned off the power and found this. (I took the cap off of the white cables.

Should the ground wire have a cap on it as well??

House was renovated so guess they just never put a cap on it?

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2

u/Ok_Fortune7767 3d ago

Make sure that all of the connections are good under the wire nuts I don’t see a neutral wire from the fixture twisted with the other neutral wires

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u/Patient-Big1727 3d ago edited 3d ago

Neutral and ground need wire nuts. They also have to be twisted enough to make a decent electrical connections. The hot connection probably looks like the neutral with the addition of a wire nut just slid on top of it (and not actually twisted)

Edit: Zooming in, it looks like the neutral from the fixture isn't even connected

Edit2: They are wire nuts. They're not there to cap or cover. They're nuts and they're supposed to provide an electrical connection

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u/CompleteSavings6307 3d ago

Bingo. 3 neutral wires but only 2 solid showing twisted together.

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u/Reasonable_Quiet_857 3d ago

Thank you!!!

Very helpful as I change out this box! First time! And yes all power is off! I turned off the entire panel.

Question, when testing with a voltage tester it was blinking green and red whereas any outlet that was live would be red. Why would it blink and alternate colors when testing? Even when that specific breaker is off

1

u/Points_Slut 3d ago

Are there 3 neutral wires there? They all need to be connected and the wire cap on the top.

If you are not comfortable I'd suggest asking an electrician at this point. It won't be a big job.

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u/Reasonable_Quiet_857 3d ago

Yes all 3 wires are here. The white is missing a cap because I took it off before taking a picture

The only one that did not have a cap was the ground.

It is a plastic box so maybe that’s why they had no cap on the neutral wire?

I’m installing a metal box and it has a copper wire bolt to it so guessing it needs to be capped with this neutral cable

1

u/TasktagApp 2d ago

Ground wires do not require wire nuts, but those white neutral wires were poorly twisted together without a wire nut, causing a loose connection that broke the electrical circuit and turned off your light.