How to Fix Anything
Investigation Introduction
The Importance of Investigating First!
Well, it happened again this week.
A man at church was building a house. He came up to me and asked me how to wire 3-way and 4-way switches. It seems that he had an electrician “pre-wire” and “rough- in” the house and now he was trying to finish it. Like happens a lot, he couldn’t figure out how to get the 3- and 4-way switches working.
I took a few minutes and tried to teach him about them. They are kind of complicated if you have never worked with them. I even tried drawing a picture for him. I understand how they work and find them to be very simple but have always had trouble teaching others how to figure them out. After a few minutes, I did what I usually do. I volunteered to go and look at them and see if I could get them working.
They are always a challenge because there are different ways to wire them. I knew most of the ways and the hard part is always figuring where the “hot” leg comes in and where the “switch leg” goes to the light.
I was sure I could figure them out. The important thing for me to do was to investigate.
All service calls and attempts to fix things should begin with the Evaluation phase. It must be determined if it is worth the time, money, and effort to attempt to repair. Also, you need to evaluate your ability to fix it!
On a side note, this week, I was also asked to look at a doorbell that wasn’t working. When I looked at it. I determined that the button was fine and working. The next step was to find the transformer. Usually, it is behind the chime. When I removed the chime, it was not there. Sometimes it is in the main breaker box. It was not there either. As I continued my investigation, I determined I needed to crawl in the attic and see were the wires led. I spent a few minutes in the attic, digging through the insulation but could not find it. Finally, I gave up! I told the homeowner that until the transformer was located, I did not want to waste time digging through and messing up the insulation to try to repair it. He said he would contact the man that did the remodel and see if he could remember!
Do you see how the evaluation and investigation phases work together?
One of the important things that I learned from the great Marine Corps general, Chesty Puller, was the value of being “on sight” to evaluate and investigate the course of action. Many times, he would set the command post on the front lines of the battle. He needed to see exactly what the enemy was up to! When he was relieved of command the next leader would always move the command post far back for safety purposes!
As a maintenance tech, I can’t troubleshoot very well, if I am not there to see what is going on!
There are many “know-it-alls” who can give you an answer and solution who have never seen the exact problem you are trying to solve. I have wasted countless time, effort, and money following their advice!
Before you ever attempt to solve a problem, go see exactly what is going on.
Back to 3- and 4-way switches.
When I went out there, I quickly determined how to wire it and hooked the switches up. It blew the breaker! As I investigated further, I found that some of the neutral wires were not connected. I hooked them up and tried it again. It again blew the breaker. As I kept investigating, I found out that the house had arc-fault breakers. These breakers are new to me as I got most of my electrical experience 20 years ago and these are rather new. What I found out was that the neutral of each breaker must return to that breaker. I had to find out which neutral in the box did this. After I was able to separate the neutral, they all worked perfectly. The home builder was happy and so was I! I had learned a valuable lesson by having to face this problem.
The investigation process will produce more than the required solution. It will also give valuable education! So, take your time with the investigation. Sometimes it is the most rewarding part of fixing things!