Q:Both wires are black. One has what looks like white paint on it.

correct.....both can be hot, as they may have been cris crossed from point to point. the best is to get a volt meter and test to your water pipe if its grounded and not eroded away over the years. problem with using an inductance tester is it may give an erroneous reading if they have been cris crossed. note.....once you find the hot of the two, the other bing the neitral will have a current on it that can be fatal, remember there is no ground to protect you, and if your in water or touching something metallic, you may be the ground path needed to complete the circuit. be careful!

Q:want to get ready to solderis the fuzzy stuff the wire? or the shiny (positive green and negative red color) the wire? sorry i know its a noob questionlet me knowthanks

wire is metal and metal is orange or silver . The fussy stuff is string

Q:what size of wire should I use for my 1.5hp aircon, 220volt

#12 because it runs for 3 hours or more and if you get a larger one it will be cababile of running it

Q:I have a 3 wire source I want to connect it to a switch on/off and then make it 2 wire to the light

Is the 3rd wire bare or green? And the first response you received is from a automotive electrician DO NOT TAKE THAT ADVICE automotive wiring is backwards from AC residential wiring. You can e-mail me or one of the other sparky's on this site for help just click our profiles and read the answers to verify our qualifications. Then click contact.

Q:Is there a Martial Arts / Fighting style that uses wires or whats the practices that uses wires called?

Wires are used in the filming of MA movies.

Q:I bought a single pole dimmer switch to install in my dining room and when I took the old switch out nothing looked right. There are two wires which were joined together by another single wire which was attached to the top screw. There was another single wire (I believe the ground wire) attached to the bottom screw. I disconnected the first two wires and attached them separately to the black wires on the dimmer and attached the ground wires together. It didn't work. I've tired several different times with no luck. I put the wires back the way they were and attached them to the old switch and they no longer work ether. Help! How can I fix this problem? The old wires appear to be a very thick copper covered in black plastic and cloth.....

The 'answerer' Justin K thinks you have knob and tube wiring. A lot of early electrical installations were done in the old days with out a ground, many types of early 'romex' did not include a ground. You may or may not have 'knob and tube' wiring - but it really dose not matter. The two wires which were joined together and had a third wire attached are the hot wires. The other wire (lower screw terminal) is the 'load' wire - it goes out to your light fixture. The reason the those 2 wires were attached together is that one of them is hot, and the other wire is a 'feed' to supply power to your next switch or receptacle. I am an electrical contractor, this is how I would fix the problem - I'm not suggesting that you do it though. #1 turn the breaker/fuse back on. #2 use a voltage tester to determine which wire is now hot. #3 touch the hot wire to the other wires 1 at a time. The hot wire when it is touching the 'load' wire will turn on the lighting fixture. Mark the 'load' wire with some black electrical tape. #4 turn the power back off #5 attach the marked 'load' wire to one of the switch terminals. #6 take the other 2 wires (incoming power, and the out going power) and join them together with a third wire ---LIKE IT WAS ORIGINALLY. Place that third onto the other terminal of the switch. it dose not mater which terminals you use - it will work just fine.

Q:can some one tell me how to wire two dual 4 ohm subs so i can get a 1-4 ohm load

wire okorder /.... for more wiring options and explanations

Q:I bought this ceiling lamp, and there are 4 wires coming out of it. One white and one black (positive and negative), a bare copper wire for grounding, but there's also a yellow striped green wire. I was wondering what's the latter one for ?In my ceiling I have the black, white and bare copper wires.I'm Canadian by the way

The yellow and green wire is another ground wire. In a house in North America most systems are AC and there is NO positive or negative conductor. The conductors are a ground/bare, white/neutral and any color is a hot wire. The green or yellow green are the exception to the color codes. I suggest you get a book on basic house wiring before you attempt anything besides basic replacement of devices.

Q:i need 175ft of 110 wire how much does it cost?

depends one the guage and copper prices fluctuate daily