Took a trouble call to a home with "a breaker that won't reset." Those always worry me because I wonder if the engine company will beat me in to the clients home. The bathroom fan light was wired with 14/2 NM. In order to provide continuous power to the receptacle by the basin the bare EGC had been sleeved at each end and used as a current carrying conductor. In order to ground the receptacle a single bare number sixteen wire had been run from the receptacle to the water pipe supplying the toilet. The receptacle outlet was a GFCI that had the supply wiring connected to the load terminals with the line terminals unused. Of course the client was unhappy that I couldn't get it "working like before." I just told him that the wiring of that circuit almost arose to the level of attempted murder. If I can devise a way to fish it I will be pulling in new cable for the supply to the light / fan so that they can be individually switched. Wish me luck.
Well I managed to fish an entirely new supply to the receptacle. The fan light is now supplied by the original 14/2 WG cable from one switch.
Here is the kicker. The box that I fished the new supply from was a full inch back of the surface of the wall. So I put on box extenders to close the gaps but now the plate does not sit on the wall the same. The occupant is going to have the dry wall repaired but he was real upset that I couldn't put it back the way it was. I got a little snappish and said that the whole reason for having a box is to contain any sparking to it's interior and I was only trying to protect his family. I just can't win for loosing.
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Tom Horne
