Adding a power switch ....

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jhayat

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Hi. I have a piece of electronic gear that was not manu'd with an off/on switch. I wish to "insert" a power switch.

Gear power cable > switch > cable > wall.

The gear has a 3-wire power cable, with hot/ground/neutral. I have spliced off the end, and after speaking with the manu, I have determined which color is which.

As this cable is not long enough, I purchased a power cable from HDepot. I have spliced off the end, and here as well, I have determined which color is which.

As a test, when I take both cables, connect the hot to hot, ground to ground and neutral to neutral, I get power to the unit.

I have also purchased a 3-terminal on/off rocker switch, with neutral, line and load. I do not yet know where the 2nd two terminals go, but I assume I can find out which is which from the manu of the switch.

Let's assume that line is ground, and load is hot. Do I take the gear power cable's hot to terminal 1, AND the cable on the wall side to terminal 1 as well, and then both cables' ground to terminal 2, and then both cables' neutral to terminal 3? ie - both ground to one of the terms, both neutral to one of the terms, and both hot to one of the terms?

Or some other way?

apex.jpg

Thanks in advance.
 
NO, not like that. green to green , neutral to neutral and line is power and load is the appliance.
If you were not cutting and adding a section you would have just cut the power wire and added the two ends of it to the switch.
 
If the switch is in fact just an on/off, and not a 3 position switch, the neutrals wirenut together and the grounds also wirenut together.

Only the hots connect, individually, to each end terminal.
 
I agree. You may have the wrong kind of switch. Normally only the hot line is interrupted by the switch. Are you expecting to connect anything else, or control anything else from this switch?
 
So that we can better assist you would you please post the specs (brand/model/part-number) of that switch that you bought at the HDepot or provide the link to the HD site page.

Guessing on our part is just that - a guess.
 
jhayat said:
Hi. I have a piece of electronic gear that was not manu'd with an off/on switch. I wish to "insert" a power switch.

Gear power cable > switch > cable > wall.

The gear has a 3-wire power cable, with hot/ground/neutral. I have spliced off the end, and after speaking with the manu, I have determined which color is which.

As this cable is not long enough, I purchased a power cable from HDepot. I have spliced off the end, and here as well, I have determined which color is which.

As a test, when I take both cables, connect the hot to hot, ground to ground and neutral to neutral, I get power to the unit.

I have also purchased a 3-terminal on/off rocker switch, with neutral, line and load. I do not yet know where the 2nd two terminals go, but I assume I can find out which is which from the manu of the switch.

Let's assume that line is ground, and load is hot. Do I take the gear power cable's hot to terminal 1, AND the cable on the wall side to terminal 1 as well, and then both cables' ground to terminal 2, and then both cables' neutral to terminal 3? ie - both ground to one of the terms, both neutral to one of the terms, and both hot to one of the terms?

Or some other way?

View attachment 20247

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
LINE is incoming power (from the circuit breaker panel), LOAD is outgoing power (to the item you are trying to feed). On most switches, only the HOT goes on the switch.
 
Backing up to the beginning before getting pulled down into what wire goes where.


What exactly are you trying to accomplish? It seems you want a switch half way up the power supply cord. Is this correct? If so the switch has to be enclosed in an approved enclosure. The switch you show is made to have wires connected to it with crimp on terminals called Faston Connectors. The switch is then the type that snaps into a rectangular cutout in a face panel that is attached to an approved enclosure. It can not be used alone out in the open.


You are looking for a switch more like this for what you want to do.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00826P0AO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


What is the piece of equipment you want to turn on and off?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Since you are extending the power cord. I would have just used the plug to connect to an extension cord as a disconnect.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for the replies.

Ok, so I was thinking that all three wires from both cables went to the switch. I guess not... :)

The unit I am trying to add a power switch to is this:

https://reverb.com/item/8066402-aph...TvdzeoQAPMpzPNWAs1Z8HQvFuRoCGT8QAvD_BwE&pla=1

bud16415 said:
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? It seems you want a switch half way up the power supply cord. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Correct.


bud16415 said:
If so the switch has to be enclosed in an approved enclosure.
Click to expand...

Ah... ok. Was not aware of this. Is this due to safety concerns, or...?

bud16415 said:
You are looking for a switch more like this for what you want to do.
Click to expand...

So, I just picked up that switch, and inside I see two terms. It's just the hot from each cable that goes to those terms? And the other two wires (gr, ntrl) go wire to wire?

Thanks!
 
Yep just the hot wire goes to the switch the others get connected to each other. Solder and shrink tube might be the way to go as there is not a lot of room in those switches for a splice.

I liked the switched extension cord idea best.
 
I wish we had a chance to see this before the wire was cut. When i am in a situation like this, I just plug the device into a power strip that has a switch. Since that device is usually part of a sound system, several devices in the same loop could be powered from the power strip and turned on or off together.
 
@slownsteady


They also make smart power strips with surge protection where you plug one device into the master outlet and then the other devices into the slave outlets and when you turn on the master device the rest come on automatically. You never have to look for the switch.
 
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