9

How do I replace when there are only three wires?

Old combo switch:
Combo Pulled Out

Left side wiring:
old switch

Right side wiring:
enter image description here

FreeMan
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Tom L
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    Please take the [tour]. "Thanks" comments aren't how we operate here. – isherwood Oct 07 '22 at 18:39
  • Is there any chance that the switch controls the socket? In the UK for example it's common to have switches on the outlets. If that were the case here it might be sufficient to replace like with like. What is the reason for needing to replace the switch/outlet? – user3210218 Oct 07 '22 at 23:56
  • The OP should not replace "like with like" because that still leaves the bare copper wire which is either a ground or neutral. – JACK Oct 08 '22 at 12:29
  • That's a switched outlet not a... oh shit. You get one or the other. You don't get to use the ground as a neutral or switch leg. – Mazura Oct 08 '22 at 22:15

3 Answers3

8

You need to ditch that receptacle.

From the way that is wired, we can assume that switch/outlet combo is at the end of a switch loop. The constant hot comes in on (presumably) black, and the switched hot goes back to the light box on white. The installer there just cheated and used the ground wire to provide neutral for the receptacle. Not kosher.

Can you provide a picture of the light fixture box with the fixture pulled out so we can see the wiring in there? This might be correctable by just ditching the combo and replacing it with a regular switch.

Chris O
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6

This looks unsafe. It might be a receptacle with no neutral, which means it was originally wired for a switch only. If you can't find a neutral wire in that box, then you should replace it with a normal switch and not a duplex device.

Use of a bare wire instead of an insulated neutral wire creates an immediate hazard of energizing the metal box, the metal yoke, and the forward facing screws when the receptacle is loaded. This is a life-threatening miswire.

My best guess is that the white wire is hot, the black wire serves a ceiling light, and the bare wire should be attached to the metal box and not this old device. Testing with a meter is needed to confirm this.

Robert Chapin
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What is Combo Switch/Outlet Device and How to Wire It? Discusses this type of device, and shows how the switch can be wired to control the outlet or an external device such as a light bulb.

Your photo seems to match their first illustration, where the switch is controlling the outlet. These devices are available if you search for "combo switch outlet".

enter image description here

Mark Harrison
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