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Found out the hard way about old junction boxes in crawl spaces
I was running cable in a crawl space last week. I found an old junction box that was still active. It could have caused a shock if I wasn't careful. Now I make sure to check for live wires first. It's a basic thing that can prevent accidents.
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anderson.drew7mo ago
How many of these old live boxes do you think are still out there? I pulled down a ceiling tile in my basement last year and my forearm brushed against a HOT junction box some genius left UNCOVERED. My whole arm went numb for like an hour. It’s terrifying. Now I just assume every old wire and box is LIVE until my tester proves it wrong. That buzz you hear is the sound of your life flashing before your eyes.
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blairm937mo ago
I've found at least three live open boxes in old houses I've worked on. The scary part is they don't always buzz, that sound usually means a loose connection is arcing. A properly connected live wire can be totally silent, which is somehow worse because there's no warning. Your rule about treating everything as live is the only safe way to do it. I just worry someone will hear a quiet box and assume it's dead. That silent danger is what gets people.
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smith.elliot7mo ago
Yeah, silent boxes are the worst. I opened a wall in my old place and almost touched a live wire that had no buzz at all. Now I double-check everything with a tester before I even breathe near it.
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