Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
Paul -
Not meaning to beat a dying horse, but as noted in your other thread on the topic
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=18118 in the Electrical forum
you cannot wire the switch this way. It will appear to work in some situations, but it will fail in others. It is contrary to the NEC (National Electrical Code). And it can be dangerous. I really suggest that you correct the situation.
Bill |
The light is not in line, the buib wouldn't pass enough current for the heater to work. The switch acts as a normal switch but the light is in parallel and providing a path to neutral of ground provides a means for a fraction of an amp to pass through the bulb to illuminate it. Yes, technically it should be wired to neutral but many breaker boxes have neutral and ground as electrically the same point.
If it was an outlet I would never take the shortcut and you are correct in that it would be a code violation. Interestingly enough, the TM is plugged into a GFI protected circuit currently and it did not trip it. I tested the GFI after reading the comments and the GFI tests normal.
Good news is that if it causes a problem, I can cut the ground wire and the switch becomes a simple switch again. I still have the magnetic one should this not work properly. This is a shakedown run and there will be time to correct any deficiencies prior to our 6-8 week trip this summer.
Thanks for the well intentioned and correct input.
Paul