[Shop-talk] Strange electrical house issues

[Randall]

---- Jim Stone <jandkstone99 at msn.com> wrote: 
> Does this all make sense?  Am I missing
> anything?  It seems too easy after
> the
> complications and I am still left with a nagging doubt about how and why
> it was originally wired.

Makes sense to me.  I'll guess that the original configuration was one of the switches controlling the outlet (hence the extra red wire carried power from the switch back to the outlet).  Or maybe someone just got confused and pulled an extra wire then wasn't sure what to do with it.

My only comment is that I would prefer to tie off (insulate) the red wire in some fashion at both ends.  Don't take a chance on the next guy forgetting that it is unused, and connecting it to power at one end.

Lots of strange things happen over the years.  My previous house had a fuse in the neutral at the box.  When the fuse opened up, most of the lights went very dim while the one in the utility room (and perhaps a few others) got extremely bright.

Randall