2. Unscrew and remove the switch plate; then use a voltage tester to make sure that the
circuit is dead.
3. Unscrew the switch from the electrical box and pull it out with the wires still attached.
Hot Wire
Ground
Two or three wires will be attached to the switch: an incoming hot wire, which is black; a
return wire, which carries the load to the fixture and may be black, red, or any other color
except green; and sometimes a grounding wire, which is green or bare copper. There
may be other wires in the box, but you are only dealing with the ones connected directly
to the switch.
You may find a white wire that has black tape on it connected to the switch. This tape
indicates that the white wire is being used as a black or colored wire in the switch leg, so
it’s not neutral.
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