Electrical question

[technogal]

First, let me say thank you to Mark and everyone else on this forum! I have never owned a mobile home until now, and you all have been an invaluable resource! I bought a "new" 2004 Palm Harbor home last year.

I consider myself to be moderately handy. I have a healthy respect for electricity. I can replace light switches, outlets, etc and turn off my main breaker when I do any of the above. I am also not afraid to call the electrician if I need to, though I would prefer not to! I have owned "regular" homes before, so I am fairly well-versed in standard home maintenance.

So, with that background, I decided to replace my outside back porch light. It had quit working completely. I didn't know if it was the switch or light, but decided I wanted a new light anyway.

To my frustration, the light fixture is recessed into the outside wall and appears to be either caulked in place or in a metal casing of some type. It won't budge. I decided to talk to a local dealer about this and decided to tackle the light switch.

I know that switches take black and white wiring. However, my 3-switch that controls the outside light, inside mudroom light and exhaust fan is only using black wiring. I'm also used to the wires being separated on each switch. My switches have grounds, a black wire going into the switch itself, then another black wire attached outside, and one cascading to the next switch. I can see all of the white wires bundled and capped in the back of the box.

This seems so odd to me...is this normal in mobile homes? How do you decide which wire goes where? And how would you remove them from the "possibly" dead switch?

Should I just call an electrician who works on mobile homes and leave it alone? Seems like such a simple repair though....

Thanks for your help in advance!

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site, and your kind words. We have a great group of homeowners here.

Unfortunately we are not giving alot of advice on DIY electrical or gas. It is the policy of this site to give very limited information on this for your safety and that of your home.

There are several DIY electrical books available at home improvement stores or you could possibly google the problem.

Please do not take this personally, we are not insulting you, we are protecting our self.

Look forward to your future contributions here on site!

Yanita

[Greg]

As Yanita said, Electrical & gas is an area that "On the job" training is not reccomended, one mistake can be fatal to both you and your home. Greg