I just moved in to a house with roof heating cables. The outlet it is connected to in the garage has an indicator light which comes on in the down position. The indicator light is off when the switch is in the up position. Am I correct to assume I leave the switch up when I do not want the cables to work, and that the indicator light will show me in the down position that the heating cables are on?
Electrical – Indicator light on electrical switch
electricalheatingswitch
Related Solutions
The switch was probably damaged by a short circuit caused by wiring your fixture incorrectly.
So - how do you fix?
Step 1: Turn off the fuse/breaker that was blown/tripped when you caused the short
Step 2: Remove the face plate for the broken switch
Step 3: Remove the screws that anchor the switch in the electrical box. Do not remove any wires.
Step 4: Study the switch and make careful note of where each wire connects. The old switch should have markings on it that indicate things like "hot", "neutral" and "ground". Take some sticky labels like mailing labels and write down each connection on a label and stick that label on the wire before you remove it from the switch.
Step 5: After you've labelled all the wires and removed the switch, take it to your local hardware store and buy a replacement.
Step 6: Come home and reconnect the wires exactly as they were before.
Step 7: Mount the switch in the box. Replace the face plate. Turn on the power in the fuse/breaker box.
You need one or two 3-way switches with pilot lights. These are also called 3-way switches, illuminated ON. Some have an illuminated toggle, some are decorative style and some have a separate light. These are examples (not that none of the ones shown below are actually 3 way switches)
These switches generally need a neutral wire at both switches. Conventional unlighted switches do not need a neutral. They also need three wires (other than neutral) running between the switches.
If you only want the pilot light in one location, you still need two 3-way switches, but only the lit one needs a neutral.
Related Topic
- Electrical – Trying to Replace 3-Way Light Switch
- Electrical – Can’t turn off security light permenantly
- Electrical – How to install a neon indicator for a light
- Wiring – Identifying how this switch with indicator light is wired
- Electrical – Adding light to existing outlet controlled by switch
- Electrical – Room Light Switch Malfunction
Best Answer
There are switches with indicator lights that illuminate when on and other switches that illuminate when off. The former are called pilot lights, the latter, illuminated switches.
To determine which yours is, you need to look at the switch without the cover plate and determine which position is ON. While up is the convention for a single pole switch that is completing a circuit, it doesn't really mean anything, since a switch can be mounted upside down.
Most single pole switches have an up indication stamped on the metal mounting frame. If that is positioned up, the switch is connected when the paddle is up.
If there is no indication, you will need a circuit tester to determine which position completes the circuit.