My light switch has three sets of three wires (like conduit).. there are three black wires, three white wires, and three bare wires.. and I don't know how to hook up another light switch because it's near impossible to get three wires around a screw terminal. My boyfriend (works in maintenance) hooked a light switch up (one that you put the wires in a hole and then screw) except for the bare wire where two wires are under the screw terminal and the third is wrapped around the other two bare wires. The lights will stay on but when you turn the switch off, it kicks the breaker.. can anyone tell me why it's doing that? Thank you.
Do you mean you have a lamp or chandelier with three sockets? If that's the case, white and black are positive and negative, and the bare wires are grounds.
Tracey, don't mess around with the electricity. In Australia it's not legal unless your a qualified electrician, of sorts. Get a tradesman to look at the problem, otherwise it could cause a house fire. I can't diagnose the problem because different colour codes are used in different countries. If you were in Australia where we use 240V AC, I would have a guess that the green earth wire is not properly earthed - which would trip the breaker. Don't take my word though - get an electrician to look at it please!
What it sounds like is happening there is that the switch box is the main feed for the room. You have a set from the panel, a set for the light fixture, and a set that are downstream, such as for an outlet. You need to determine which set is which. Then cut a piece of black wire and a bare copper about 8 long. This is how the connections are made: TURN THE POWER OFF. Then connect all of the whites together with a wire nut. Connect the new bare copper to the other grounds with another wire nut. Then connect the black from the panel, the downstream black, and the short black together with another wire nut. The black to the light fixture and the black pigtail (short wire) connect to the 2 brass terminals on the switch. The bare copper pigtail goes on the green screw on the switch. Reinstall the switch in the box, turn the power on, and check your work. If the light stays on at all times, but the outlets only work when the switch is on, those 2 wires are reversed. Turn the power off, switch the wires, and you should be good to go. Hope this helps.
