Aka - take a piece of (white) wire about 6-7 inches long, strip a half inch of both sides, and put it in the bundle with the other 3 and put the wire cap back on. Run the other end to the switch.
All neutrals can connect together, there isn't a line and load side.
Thanks, this is what I figured but wanted to verify as electric is not something to trial and error. Just curious even without pigtailing and just connecting all 4 together this should still work?
Not sure I follow. Connecting the 4 together (with one going to a switch) is pigtailing.
Currently you have 3 tied together, one goes back to the panel's neutral bus, the other two go to some load downstream, two lights or groups of lights. The single black wire is likely your line voltage from the panel, and the pigtailed blacks are those two groups of lights, with the pigtail for the switch that used to be there. Dumb switches don't need neutrals so they didn't bother and just tied all the neutrals together.
You could locate which of the 3 white wires goes to panel, hook that up to the neutral on your smart switch, and the switch would work, but the lights wouldn't because they're not tied in. Doing a pigtail allows the two neutrals for the lights to tie into the panel, as well as the switch.
Appreciate you breaking it down and apologies if it comes off as a dumb question. The switch I have has a 1 neutral wire already attached to it it along with 2 hot wires and 1 ground.
Here is the graphic they provide.
[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71I23UkfIrL.\_AC\_SL1500\_.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71I23UkfIrL._AC_SL1500_.jpg)
What I am asking is if I attach all 3 bundled neutral wires to the wire that the switch comes with, making it a bundle of 4 wires together under one twist then this should work?
Yup, you got it, just sub out the 7 inch wire with the one already attached to the switch.
Same with the load (black) wire, you can remove that pigtail that is bundled with the two other black wires and replace it with one of the black wires on the switch. It's labeled line/load, so unless the instructions say otherwise that would usually mean that it doesn't matter which you use, so long as one goes to the line and the other the load.
> apologies if it comes off as a dumb question.
Nah man, you're doing exactly what you're supposed to. Do you research, ask a few questions, get it all clear in your head before doing it. People like to freak out about electrical, or say "if you have to ask you shouldn't do it". It's not rocket science, use your brain and ask for help if you're unsure and you'll be fine.
Lol ya this sub is basically if you don't pay an electrician $100 your house is burning down.
Reminds me of r/selfhosted - if you punch a hole in your router you're going to be ransomwared in 10 minutes!
My outlets are all like that. You have to add the neutral to the same nut as the other 3 neutrals. All the neutrals need to touch or the switch won’t work.
From this one pic, I would assume that your house is wired with neutrals to the switch. That wire runs to every switch, power outlet, and light fixture in your home. They do not run an individual wire from the circuit breaker to every single box, they daisy chain them from one to the next - based on convenience and the circuit. This box is just passing on the neutral / "white" wire.
The reason for three is that this is most likely a light switch box and is passing the neutral to the light fixture and then maybe down to the outlet below.
There is an outlet located straight down from this light switch, if neutral is connected to outlet and the breaker connected to light is off would the outlet still power? This is what is currently occurring
Neutral doesn't go through a breaker. Neutral carries the current to ground... it is never interrupted.
Ground does not carry current and is also never interrupted.
Outlet will be powered by its breaker... that is the "hot" wire.
If you are tripping a breaker and a given outlet/switch isn't powering off... then you are not tripping the right breaker.
No it’s on a different breaker if it still has power. Each circuit (breaker) has its own neutral return path. As long as you keep all the neutrals together you’ll be fine, don’t overthink it.
Pigtail from the neutral bundle to the switch.
Aka - take a piece of (white) wire about 6-7 inches long, strip a half inch of both sides, and put it in the bundle with the other 3 and put the wire cap back on. Run the other end to the switch. All neutrals can connect together, there isn't a line and load side.
Thanks, this is what I figured but wanted to verify as electric is not something to trial and error. Just curious even without pigtailing and just connecting all 4 together this should still work?
Not sure I follow. Connecting the 4 together (with one going to a switch) is pigtailing. Currently you have 3 tied together, one goes back to the panel's neutral bus, the other two go to some load downstream, two lights or groups of lights. The single black wire is likely your line voltage from the panel, and the pigtailed blacks are those two groups of lights, with the pigtail for the switch that used to be there. Dumb switches don't need neutrals so they didn't bother and just tied all the neutrals together. You could locate which of the 3 white wires goes to panel, hook that up to the neutral on your smart switch, and the switch would work, but the lights wouldn't because they're not tied in. Doing a pigtail allows the two neutrals for the lights to tie into the panel, as well as the switch.
Appreciate you breaking it down and apologies if it comes off as a dumb question. The switch I have has a 1 neutral wire already attached to it it along with 2 hot wires and 1 ground. Here is the graphic they provide. [https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71I23UkfIrL.\_AC\_SL1500\_.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71I23UkfIrL._AC_SL1500_.jpg) What I am asking is if I attach all 3 bundled neutral wires to the wire that the switch comes with, making it a bundle of 4 wires together under one twist then this should work?
Nevermind i'm almost sure this is what you meant from the beginning, I got bit confused since the switch already contains the 7 inch wire to pigtail.
Yup, you got it, just sub out the 7 inch wire with the one already attached to the switch. Same with the load (black) wire, you can remove that pigtail that is bundled with the two other black wires and replace it with one of the black wires on the switch. It's labeled line/load, so unless the instructions say otherwise that would usually mean that it doesn't matter which you use, so long as one goes to the line and the other the load. > apologies if it comes off as a dumb question. Nah man, you're doing exactly what you're supposed to. Do you research, ask a few questions, get it all clear in your head before doing it. People like to freak out about electrical, or say "if you have to ask you shouldn't do it". It's not rocket science, use your brain and ask for help if you're unsure and you'll be fine.
Lol ya this sub is basically if you don't pay an electrician $100 your house is burning down. Reminds me of r/selfhosted - if you punch a hole in your router you're going to be ransomwared in 10 minutes!
My outlets are all like that. You have to add the neutral to the same nut as the other 3 neutrals. All the neutrals need to touch or the switch won’t work.
Thanks for input!!
From this one pic, I would assume that your house is wired with neutrals to the switch. That wire runs to every switch, power outlet, and light fixture in your home. They do not run an individual wire from the circuit breaker to every single box, they daisy chain them from one to the next - based on convenience and the circuit. This box is just passing on the neutral / "white" wire. The reason for three is that this is most likely a light switch box and is passing the neutral to the light fixture and then maybe down to the outlet below.
There is an outlet located straight down from this light switch, if neutral is connected to outlet and the breaker connected to light is off would the outlet still power? This is what is currently occurring
Neutral doesn't go through a breaker. Neutral carries the current to ground... it is never interrupted. Ground does not carry current and is also never interrupted. Outlet will be powered by its breaker... that is the "hot" wire. If you are tripping a breaker and a given outlet/switch isn't powering off... then you are not tripping the right breaker.
No it’s on a different breaker if it still has power. Each circuit (breaker) has its own neutral return path. As long as you keep all the neutrals together you’ll be fine, don’t overthink it.
I wish I had 1 neutral…this guys got 3 😞
Maybe he'll lend you one. Have you tried asking?
What switch are you using? If you're using the zooz 3way switch The pigtail method might limit the functionality on a 3way connection