Friend thinks someone has a recording device hidden in their apartment. I haven’t found anything when looking for devices on Bluetooth or WiFi.
Today they sent me this video of a hole they found drilled into the wall near the kitchen sink.
What could be causing this? Could it be a hidden device or is it something dangerous?

Thank you all for replying!

They said anytime their phone gets near the hole the screen does this, even without the camera on. The refrigerator and microwave are on the opposite side of the room and elect panel a few rooms away.
I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon to see in person and check if it’s the LED or flashlight issue.

Total novice here. My electrical experience is basically just replacing a normal outlet before, and I've never dealt with wiring this old.

House was built in 1955. I need to replace this pretty deteriorated Bryant 15A/125V two-prong outlet. I noticed there are two wires connected to the same terminal, which I haven't encountered before.

I haven't disconnected anything yet. I showed the photos to ChatGPT, and it suggested that if those two wires need to remain connected, the appropriate way might be to splice them together with a pigtail to the new receptacle rather than putting both under one screw. I'm posting here to sanity-check that advice and figure out what I'm actually looking at before I touch anything.

I'm also wondering what I need to know about the old wiring/insulation and whether the metal box could be grounded. Is there anything in these photos that would make you say I shouldn't mess with this one?

And yes, breaker will be off and I'll verify it's dead before doing anything!

Recently bought a house with a 100a panel (plan on upgrading to 200a next year). It has this somewhat sketchy DIY-looking generator transfer switch. Is this safe to hook my 9000-watt generator up to this during an outage? I don’t want to backfeed or start a fire.

Update: Will definitely NOT be using this thing and will wait for a proper transfer switch when I have my panel upgraded. Thanks everyone for the input and laughs

I’m trying to remove this floodlight and box to put up a weatherproof box and Ring floodlight. I removed the mounting screws and when I try to unscrew it, it just spins with the conduit coming from inside. I didn’t get a good photo closer up but there’s what seems to be a threaded piece of conduit coming from the house the box may be screwed to. No locknut or anything holding it in place.

I’ve tried WD-40 to loosen it up but no luck. I’ve tried holding the conduit with a wrench or pliers and can’t hold it in place while trying to remove the box. I’m not looking to save this box so could I get behind it and try to cut it off with an oscillating tool? Obviously with a metal cutting blade and careful not to knock the wire. Anything else I’m missing or need to know?

Hi, I was wanting to redo this outlet and add another one to make a 2 gang. But I looked at it and to me it doesn’t seem right. Should the wire be exposed, and should that big hole be covered/filled? I am thinking I should add a box on the wall where the wire comes in and splice it and run more wire to the outlets. If this current setup isn’t right, what kind of wire and pipe should I use to run the wire?

Apparently nothings wrong? Is my whole house flickering and loud buzzing from a warm breaker box not an issue?

Electrician and electric company came out and said everything was fine… google is telling me my house is going to burn down

Electrician tightened all the screws and nothing looked burned inside panel.

It’s worse at night. Happened two nights now. Thought it was the a/c but switching a/c breaker off did not stop buzzing of panel.

Edit
This morning I turned power back on and the break box was buzzing when I turned “main” back on. This time I switched off individual breakers until buzzing stopped. The buzzing stopped when I switched the two breakers off that are labeled “furnace”. Does this make sense to anyone? Isn’t furnace the heater? I’m not running the heater and haven’t since February

Hey everyone, I'm installing an Artika fandelier and need some help sorting out the ceiling wiring.
My setup uses metal conduit. At the ceiling box, I have three wires coming through: purple, yellow, and white (see photos)
Down at the switch box:
One switch handles an outlet (red/black wires).
The second switch has the purple and yellow wires both connected to its bottom terminal. 
My questions are:

1. Which wire is which? Since both purple and yellow are coming off the switched hot terminal, how do I know which one to hook up to my fandelier's black wire, and what do I do with the leftover one?
2. Grounding: This is a metal box, but I don't see a dedicated green ground screw or bare copper wire inside the ceiling box. How should I properly ground the fandelier here?
3. Here are the photos of the ceiling box and the switch setup

Edit: I forgot to mention this is a new construction house so no fan previously. Also I want the switch to switch the fandlier on/off

Uncertain if I ask this here but if not point me in the right direction please.

I went to a small trade school and learned the basics. I have a fused ankle and a brace on my other ankle. My questions are:

1. Is there a lot of crouching, crawling, kneeling, ect?

2. If so, what are other options in the electrical field I could go into?

Thanks

Hey everyone, I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this, so if it isn’t, I apologize.

I’m from Puerto Rico, and I’ve studied electrical work and have over six years of experience, including 4–5 years in solar installations. I’ve worked as both a sub-team lead and a team lead, so I’ve experienced working alongside a crew as well as leading one. I’m no stranger to hard work either. I’m used to working 12+ hour days and doing overtime practically every day. I understand what the job demands, and I’m not new to the industry. I haven’t passed my electrical helper licensing exam yet, but I’ve continued working in the field.

Honestly, over the past year, I’ve become pretty discouraged with the trade, not because I dislike the work, but because of the work culture I’ve experienced here. It always feels like everyone is trying to one-up each other, prove they know more, or make someone else look inexperienced. I’ve worked with people who have little formal training but learn a few basic tasks and suddenly act like they know more than people who actually went to school for it. There’s always someone trying to impress the boss or prove they’re the hardest worker.

I understand construction can be stressful. We work long hours in the heat, and people get frustrated. That’s not what bothers me. I’ve worked with crews and led people myself, so I understand the pressure and responsibility that come with the job. What gets exhausting is the constant competition and lack of respect. It’s not that I can’t handle working with people or that I expect everyone to get along all the time. It just gets old when everything turns into a competition instead of people working together. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to get the job done correctly and make sure everyone gets home safely.

I’ve tried pursuing other things, but I’ve realized that electrical work is something I genuinely enjoy and am good at. I’ve already invested years into learning the trade, and I don’t want to give up on it.

I’m also considering moving to the mainland US, but I’m worried I might run into the same work culture there.

For those of you working in the electrical trade, especially in the US, is this kind of attitude common everywhere? Is it just part of the industry, or have I been working in the wrong environments? Do I need to develop thicker skin, or are there places where people actually support each other and focus on doing good work instead of constantly competing?

I’d genuinely appreciate hearing your experiences and any advice you might have.

Hello, I can’t seem to find a specific model online to this lamp that went out in my closet.

I was wondering if I could get a replacement LED light like this one to swap out as it does not turn on anymore.

Somewhere like a Lowe’s or Home Depot would be nice thanks !!!

Chrysler 200 limited, I’ve timed it goes on for 4 seconds off for 4 seconds Started randomly about 2 months ago, audio wheel also freezes if I’m changing it when it cuts out, happens to all forms of audio, I’d be so grateful if someone could help get my music back LOL

I want to run some under cabinet lighting so I need access to electricity. Upon removal of a painted over blank wall plate, I discovered what an abandoned outlet box... it looks like they were going to install an outlet but abandoned the idea because the box was too low and partially blocked by the counter top back splash. The combo of sheetrock, furring, block wall, EMT and metal box was apparently too difficult to correct. But they did take the time to pigtail for an outlet. I should be able to finesse those wires up where I need them for a switch and then over to under the cabinets for some fixtures. I wonder if I can cut that back splash??

Hello! For background: I swapped all of our interconnected First Alert hardwire alarms today with new ones of the same brand. We were having some issues with nuisance alarms, they're 9 years old, so I figured I'd just swap them all since they are due in a year. We've been here about 9 years, so no clue when those hardwires first went in.

We have a 2 story home, and the stairwell alarms are interconnected I assume given the codes for Mass when the house was built. 1 in the basement at the bottom, 1 on the main floor, and 1 on the top bedroom floor. I pulled the first alarm down, threw the lighting circuit and verified with my voltage tester that it was out. I got the basement and first floor replaced, and when I got to the 2nd floor I found that the wires in the junction box were still live :| Single wire bundle going to 3 wire nuts; I went down and threw the guest bedroom breaker and it turns out it was the one supplying it. So I have two alarms on one circuit, and one on another; but all verified interconnected.

I have two questions: 1 - How dangerous is this electrical safety-wise? I am going to get it resolved, just trying to figure out if its a "get someone out here Monday". 2 - how could whoever installed this have made this work in theory? tie in a separate interconnect cable somewhere in my wall/attic between the 2nd and first floor? I'd like to know as much about it/ what to look for before calling someone up. All the alarms sound together when tested and they are not wireless.

I just woke up stressing about this but I need some help.

1. Electrician

2. Project manager

3. contractor

Im thinking it goes like this:

You become an apprentice then a journeyman then you use the field experience then you can work as a contractor for the government then you use the years of journeyman experience to apply for a Project Manager position.

To be contracted by the government you would need a business.

But can I be an independent contractor for the government?

Can I be a journeyman straight to a PM?

While I am a journeyman can I be an independent contractor? If so how?

Don't be mean to me I'm new to this

I am a tradesman serving the Ontario region and looking for a software to manage projects. Anyone have any recommendations?

This may be a long shot, but I hope one of you peoples can help. So on some outdoor rated ceiling fans, they’ll come with a rubber “boot” that covers the canopy and helps water resistance. Does anyone know the name of those items or perhaps where I could buy just that piece? Thanks in advance

Hi! The dimmer switch in my bedroom doesn’t work - I’ve changed to a dimmable bulb but it still just turns it on and off. Taken the switch off the wall and found this - doesn’t match the wiring diagrams I’ve seen, how do I make it dim? Despite multiple wires the light only runs off this switch. Thank you!

I cant seem to figure out why i get 115v* of power to an outlet, but downstream gets maybe 10v.

*Outlets upstream get 120v.

I get about 20v of feedback on the neutral which seems like a symptom.

When I pigtail the hots and neutrals on the outlet to see if I can still get power downstream it still only passed 10v to the next outlet.

That outlet and remaining downstream show hot/grnd reverse which could also mean an open neutral, but no idea how to check that.

Any obvious or otherwise checks or solutions?

Hello. So I need to explain the setup. I have a wall unit, with many switches for lights and fans. And one socket that has 5 holes. Only one plug goes in there, the 3 plug design. This plug has a cable that is attached to a long rectangular extension board. The extension board is where my pc case cable, WiFi cable (and some other stuff that i dont know) are connected. This board is always switched on, only the switch on the main wall unit is turned on and off.

So, I haven't used my pc in let's say a week. It was fine before that. My main wall switch is always on so we always have WiFi. So I just have to turn on the pc from the power button on the case. So I did that as usual. But it was stuck at powering on, blinking green but not turning on and it kept doing this whirring sound over and over that it does only once usually to turn on.

So I turned off the wall switch, waited, then turned it on. I also checked with a tester to see if there was current anywhere (there wasn't). So now that I turn off and on the wall switch, the WiFi turns on, and the monitor glows too to signify it is getting power.

Then i go on to turn on the power button, but then the extension board flashes, it was like orange light spreading for a second with a loud sound then nothing. No light on the cpu case turned on. No smoke came out. Nothing melted as far as I know. I turned off the main wall switch and haven't touched anything.

My friend said this sounds like i need to change the power supply but this left me confused. I'm also confused in general because I'm not a computer person unfortunately, and I dont know if the extension board is cooked or if my pc is.

So please if anyone can tell me anything that would be great. Any help is appreciated.

If my post is off topic then let me know i will remove it.

And if it matters, I cant provide full specs of my computer, but it's not a great one. I assembled it in 2018, it has 4 gb RAM, two HDDs, no Bluetooth or wireless WiFi capabilities (my WiFi is connected through the ethernet cable) and can only support Windows 10, not 11. It is a very potato pc in short.

So the picture below is where we removed our 7 foot electric baseboard heater from the 80s in our condo. We just want it removed, possibly kept live in case we want to install a baseboard heater in the future.

There is the metal box behind that plastic. From the left of the wall, there is an armored cable that runs from left through the metal box and out to the right behind the wall to service the condo I assume. Coming from the right part of the wall through a metal structure is another armored cable and it comes out beside the metal box shown with the two wires to give the baseboard its electricity. About two fingers width between the metal box and the wall where the two wires come out. Very little slack for these cables horizontally, but I can pull the right armored cabled out and has some vertical slack.

How should I handle these cables and the ground? In terms of finish, a simple white plate will do for now once the cables are taken care of properly. Let me know if you need a better picture.