Wiring a new DC switch back in to box?

[lcm1947]

I didn't pay attention when I took my old failed DC switch off so of course now I don't remember how the wires should go. Anybody know? I am thinking that the two black wires should be on one side and the whites on the other. Would this be correct? Thanks for any help. I don't know that it even makes any difference but as little as I know I just flat don't know.

[LCHIEN]

I didn't pay attention when I took my old failed DC switch off so of course now I don't remember how the wires should go. Anybody know? I am thinking that the two black wires should be on one side and the whites on the other. Would this be correct? Thanks for any help. I don't know that it even makes any difference but as little as I know I just flat don't know.

I don't know offhand which way it goes but if you wire it wrong you will melt your switch and then blow the breaker.

You can easily determine it with a ohm meter but then we're talking a new set of skills here.

[lcm1947]

Hmmm. No takers I see. Thanks Loring you at least confirmed that I shouldn't try hooking it up until I know the correct way. I was going to hook it up this morning weather I had an answer or not but think I'll wait now after that info until I know for sure. Surely somebody knows.

[JR]

I think you've got it right. You should see a black and a white coming from the power cord. They will be connected to two adjacent terminals on one side of the switch.

The internal wiring on my DC does not use black and white wiring, but I'd think connecting the internal black accross from incoming black wire, and the internal white wire accross from the incoming white wire would do it.

Here's a simple schematic of the dual-throw switch used in the HF DC. Last week I tore mine apart and reassembled it, so I'm pretty clear on this.

incoming black ----/ ----internal black
incoming white ----/ ----internal white

When you throw the switch both sides make connection.

AFAIK even if you were to have the internal white accross from the incoming black the motor would still operate properly (reaching back to my AC theory now!).

HTH,
JR

[Ken Massingale]

Mac,
The switch 'should', but this is HF, have 2 brass screws and 2 silver screws. If so, put a black (hot) wire on each brass screw and the whites to the silver. If you are running it on 100v, it's best to not switch the neutral (white wires). Connect them with a wire nut and put the blacks on the switch. If you get it wrong the breaker will trip before damaging the switch, 'usually'.
Email me if you need more help, bud.
ken

[mdutch]

This sounds like a single-pole-single-throw on/off switch one white and one black wire. From your description, I'm assuming the plastic switch body has two wires (one white and one black lead) and the DC chassis also has a single white and black lead.

If so, connect the DC's white to Switch's white, and DC's black to Switch's black.

If there's more than two connections to the switch unit itself, please re-state the description of the switch.

[lcm1947]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm somewhat embarrassed to even ask such a simple question but when you just don't know you just don't know and my switch or more is at stake here so I'm being cautious. Anyway what I have is the switch itself has four copper metal arms that stick out from the back of the switch. The wires have female metal slip on type clips that slide over these switch arms. Standing up and having the switch with the ON towards the sky and the OFF towards the ground there's two arms behind the ON and two behind the OFF. Hope that helps.

[LCHIEN]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm somewhat embarrassed to even ask such a simple question but when you just don't know you just don't know and my switch or more is at stake here so I'm being cautious. Anyway what I have is the switch itself has four copper metal arms that stick out from the back of the switch. The wires have female metal slip on type clips that slide over these switch arms. Standing up and having the switch with the ON towards the sky and the OFF towards the ground there's two arms behind the ON and two behind the OFF. Hope that helps.

That would be a double-pole, single throw switch.
In other words two parallel switches that work together two sithc two lines simultaneously.
Physically they are preety much all made the same.
Looking at the front of the switch with the on at the top and off at the bottom, the contacts are at the rear at 1:00, 5:00 7:00 and 11:00 on an imaginary clock face.

One pair of contacts is the 1:00/5:00 pair. The other contact is the
7:00 and 11:00 pair.

One way of doing it:
If the power cord input has white and black you would hook the white to 7:00 and the black to 5:00.
Going to the motor a white/black pair you would hook the white to 11:00 and the black to 1:00 to match the way we hooked the power cord wire above.

Actually it's symmetric and you can reverse top/bottom and left right as long as you do it for both the input and output.
So Basically you would hook one color pair to the right and one color pair to the left.

[lcm1947]

Excellent Loring thanks. That's what I been waiting for. Now I know exactly what I'm doing. Thanks again for taking the time Loring and all the other replies.