I am adding an outdoor floodlight and when I opened the motion sensor box for the existing lights, I found the neutral wire feeding the light was not connected in the box. I think this neutral should be connected with the other neutrals in the same box, but I wanted to make sure that is correct before rewiring it. When I checked the light fixture itself, there are several neutrals wired together in that box. Should I join the light neutral with the other neutrals in this box?
Note: There were several other issues with this box also that I fixed (box not grounded, not outdoor rated box, no cable clamp etc.).
Best Answer
I have seen two 14/2 cables used instead of a 14/3 cable. 14/2 is a hot (black), neutral(white) and a ground(bare copper), 14/3 is hot, neutral, and a load (red). It is used for three-way switches or smoke alarms where the third one is used to signal all alarms to sound when only one detects smoke.
I don't know what your setup is but it may be similar to the smoke alarms, which would mean that the neutral is not used. The original installer may not have had 14/3 for whatever reason.