# As direct as a short can get.



## Adam12 (May 28, 2008)

One day over the summer while working on a school in Newport Beach, the boss started to turn power on to start checking recept's. 

He started with the lighting and everything came on without a hitch.

As he turned on breakers to this particular classroom, he began to have a problem with circuit #12, for some reason it kept tripping.

He called me over from an adjacent classroom and said "Hey Adam, come give me a hand with this circuit, the breaker wont hold". 

I traced out the conduit, found a j-box between the panel and recept's then took apart the make-up. "Try it again" I said.

BOOM!

"Let me check inside the panel" he says.... Alright.

After its opened, he says "That S.O.B"!, Adam come check this out"

I go over and take a look, I didnt see anything right away, "Whats wrong" 
"Look at the wire colors" Ok, so I'm looking on the even side starting with circuit 2 working my way down. In my mind I'm saying the wire colors, Black, red, blue, black, red, *GREEN*!? What the F*ck!  

This is what I saw.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

Oh, thats all bad! Was the guy color blind? I think the green/blue colorblingness is most common.

~Matt


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## Adam12 (May 28, 2008)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Oh, thats all bad! Was the guy color blind? I think the green/blue colorblingness is most common.
> 
> ~Matt


He made up 3 or 4 other panels with no problems. I couldnt figure it out.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

Adam12 said:


> He made up 3 or 4 other panels with no problems. I couldnt figure it out.


Was the corresponding blue landed on the ground bar??

~Matt


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

messing with you guys maybee?


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## Adam12 (May 28, 2008)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Was the corresponding blue landed on the ground bar??
> 
> ~Matt


The blue was landed on a spare breaker.

Ive never met anyone who messed around like that. The foreman called the project Mgr. that day and let him know what he did. The guy was on another job at the time, not sure what happened to him after that.


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## Kletis (Jan 18, 2008)

Wow...that is rediculous!!!!


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## Rong (Feb 23, 2008)

I just finished a job were I had a brand new helper. Month and a half in the trade. Being short handed and crunch time I was forced to have him do some make-up in a few JB's. I of course checked a few of his boxes and they were made up right. Went to turn on the 277 lighting and bang blown breakers. He had the brown , orange tied together in TWO boxes. 

I also had him hook up the lighting. Some had battery backup. I explained to him and even wrote to way to wire these fixtures. Wired one with him and then checked the next one he did and the very last one. My thinking on this was is if he was wiring them wrong then it should show up when I checked the last one. I was WRONG in between the first one and the last one he hooked the black(120) and the orange (277) wires from the battery ballast to power. I a going to have to replace 9 battery packs.

I had a recpt. installed in the ceiling with MC feeding it. He hooked that into the lighting (277) power. I caught that.


I know he was well over his skill level. BUT I had written out how to do everything and told him to ask me if he had any questions.

I am upset with myself for not checking closer. However as I said the deadline getting very close and we had to be done and he was the only help that I had. 

Had a JW for a couple of days and he wired an exit light orange (power coming in) to the white in the exit light. When I saw that I asked why would you do that. He said that since it was 277v that the orange goes to white. Were in the sam heck he came up with that idea I will never know. I had him change it to power to power neutral to neutral.


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

that battery pack mistake is one of the few firable offenses in my company


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

oh and back to the OP - i agree ive never worked with anyone who would do that on purpose even to mess with someone - he even numbered it so he might be color blind - or just a jackass


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## Adam12 (May 28, 2008)

nolabama said:


> oh and back to the OP - i agree ive never worked with anyone who would do that on purpose even to mess with someone - he even numbered it so he might be color blind - or just a jackass


I didnt know him that well, from what I heard, he was a J/A.


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## gilbequick (Oct 6, 2007)

Adam12 said:


> Ive never met anyone who messed around like that. The foreman called the project Mgr. that day and let him know what he did. The guy was on another job at the time, not sure what happened to him after that.


It seems like it's an oversight. Is it really worth calling the project manager over? That seems pretty harsh, the guy did make up several other panels and none had any problems with them. It is an obvious mistake, but it seems like a rarity with the guy. Nobodys perfect, I just can't see calling the PM over that.


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

gilbequick said:


> It seems like it's an oversight. Is it really worth calling the project manager over? That seems pretty harsh, the guy did make up several other panels and none had any problems with them. It is an obvious mistake, but it seems like a rarity with the guy. Nobodys perfect, I just can't see calling the PM over that.


 
If that happened on one of my jobs I would lean toward thinking somebody was screwing around on purpose not the guy who actually wired the panel up, unless he had a history of mistakes, at which point I would have had someone check up on him periodically.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

he probably has a tough time telling green from blue. luckily im not like that but i know a few people in the field who are. i think calling the PM and getting the guy introuble over something like that is harsh. unless of course he did it on purpose just to make someone angry or whatever:tank::saddam:sama:


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