3rd switch @ front door

[shaggylive]

Hello everyone! thanks for all the great info everyone shares! I have a 2000 holly park that was abandoned with pets inside so while the park had a dumpster for me I decided to completely gut flooring, cabinets, and the lower portion of drywall on all walls. lots of questions, but many have have been addressed by friends and family as well as good ol ingenuity
one thing that's been driving me nuts is the first switch inside the front door. I have no idea what it feeds. it goes into the ceiling, but not to the ceiling fan. the 2nd is the fan/light, and the 3rd is the porch light.
I was hoping it controlled the outlet underneath for heat tape, but alas that outlet is still dead with no sign of where the wire comes from. obviously I have some work to do underneath but I'll wait for warmer weather and check level ect..
but before I tack the drywall back up I would really like to figure out what the extra switch is for.

[Steve-WA]

Possibly wired for a ceiling fan that was not installed, or more likely it powers an outlet for a lamp

[1987Commodore]

Usually that switch would be for an outlet close to the door to operate a table lamp.
The heat tape outlet should be on a GFI protected circuit, so look for a GFI outlet, probably in a bathroom. The outside receptacles are likely fed from that, unless you have a GFI breaker in your electrical panel.

[shaggylive]

or more likely it powers an outlet for a lamp

Usually that switch would be for an outlet close to the door to operate a table lamp

bingo! there were so many outlets not working @ first I forgot about the one by the door as all the wall framing lumber got piled there. kinda dumb that a lamp that close to the door would be easy to turn off manually. oh well, I'm sure I'll rearrange many circuits anyway. I'm thinking a master switch for all un-essential devices like phone chargers so I can kill them all when I leave.

The heat tape outlet should be on a GFI protected circuit, so look for a GFI outlet, probably in a bathroom. The outside receptacles are likely fed from that, unless you have a GFI breaker in your electrical panel.

the outside oulets are on the bathroom gfi. the kitchen gfi was completely rusted so I bypassed it temporarily, but no luck. I do have 2 gfi breakers, but they only power the dishwasher and fridge cirucuits..
I'll address the heat tape outlet in a few weeks when my dad helps me move the water shut-off valve to the bathroom or water heater. not sure how or why someone would want a washing machine in the master closet..
right now I've got the heat tape on a drop cord to the outside outlet.

[ponch37300]

That switched outlet is meant for when you come home at night and everything is pitch black you can just flip the switch right by the door and not have to walk in the dark to the lamp. I "believe" that it's NEC electrical code that you have to have a switched form of light right by the entry door, either a ceiling light fixture or a switched outlet for a lamp.

[shaggylive]

solved the heat tape outlet underneath last night! I decided I'd map the current electric while I had all the drywall up and before I started re-wiring to much. I finally pulled up the insulation behind the water heater and there was my line going down. (outlet is 10ft from heater where the main in/shutoff valve is) the line was on the same circuit as the masterbed, but was fed from the far end of the line in the living room. somebody had completely mis-wired an indicator switch by the kitchen counter!

anyway another mystery solved.