Short wires in junction box

Changing a light switch recently, I discovered that my source and neutral wires were so short (maybe 2") that working with them was very difficult. The other wires in the box were long enough that there was no trouble working with them. The box is already crowded; there is an unswitched line taking its power in the box, plus the line out to the light being controlled by the switch, of course. Can anybody suggest a tip or trick for dealing with this situation? Thanks.

Stan

That makes a bad situation, BTDT.

Possibly a trip to the attic will let you see if the wire has been stepped on and pulled up and partially out of the box. If you can restore some slack, you "might" be able to pull some of the wire back into the box. It is probably stapled to the stud just above the box, so don't get too rough pulling it, could skin the insulation.

Another trick is to parallel twist some pig tails on, solder the connection, slip several layers of heat shrink tubing over the connection.

Not easy, no matter how you go about it.

Get some insulated butt splicers and splice a longer tail on them.
Been there, done that.

Dusty

I've seen wiring done DIY where the installer didn't know enough to keep some slack in the lines and cut off all the excess, but I would guess there is more slack in the wire at some point. The two biggest things are 1) to not have any kinks/sharp bends in the wiring and 2) to not have a lot of excess weight on the wiring.

Electric boxes have clamps inside to keep the wire in place. Have you loosened the clamp(s) for this wiring?

As Steve said, don't pull too hard. If no slack available in/near the box, would be good if you are able to trace the line in the attic or under a crawlspace and see if it's caught anywhere.

Sometimes, other outlets or fixtures might have been added and any available slack used in that process. As for adding pigtail connections, be careful with what you do. Building codes AND insurance companies have gone a bit off the deep end on some things, and many areas do not allow certain things. Plus, if there were ever a problem and insurance found out there was electrical modifications from other than a licensed electrician, they might blame the problem on the wiring, EVEN IF it's obvious that it wasn't the problem.

We lost a home to electrical fire, and the fire inspector found the culprit - faulty wiring done by a certified electrician, and it was his final job before retiring. They instead blamed the fire on an unused extension cord as there was much less paperwork that way, plus they didn't want to fight the electrician and his insurance. Insurance was through a budget company to boot.

Note: About where I mentioned Codes and Insurance going overboard, my opinion on that is due to the sudden DIY boom that hit about 15 or 20 years ago with all those DIY shows on TV. Always burned me up when they would aire programs showing people doing things the wrong way, but never make any attempt to say that. Other people would see the wrong ways of doing things and just assume it's OK to copy it for their needs.

It used to be that the electrical code required that wires be twisted before putting the wire nuts on. The theory was that the wire nut was just there to insulate the joint, not to secure it. That has changed now and most wire nuts are UL listed to insulate and secure the joint meaning that if you take a short piece of tail wire, strip out one end 1/4"-1/2", bend a hook in it, place it next to the short wire, and then use a wire nut to secure them together it would meet standards in any of the 3 states I regularlyrics work in. Your area may be different but electricity works the same state to state. If you do this make sure to test that each one is ceca rely holding both wires before putting the switch back on. I personally prefer to twist them together before using a wire nut but it is not really needed.

Another option that may work for you is to purchase what I call the WAGO style connector. It is a brand name, but they have holes that you just push the wires into and little steel fingers hold it in place. These are easier to use, however if there is a fairly large load on them I think their lifespan may be fairly short like when people stab the wires into the back of an outlet and then run an electric heater on it.

I personally would shy away from a crimp on butt splice since those are typically made for stranded wire and don't work as well on solid wire. I have run across it being used in the past and while I have never found any charred and heated joints I have managed to pull about half of them off with just my hands.

Has been a long time for me (the 80's-90's), so had forgotten all about the push-in type connections. I never used them, as I had always heard stories of how they could work loose over time for some reason or other; something about vibration, I think. I have to assume they've gotten more reliable since then, but don't have a clue.

Wire nut a tail on them about 8 inches long. BTDT just have to work at it to get it done.

One suggestion
push connectors

If you add on pigtails to those two wires I'm guessing you are going to have overfilled the box according to code (if it isn't already overfilled). You will probably need to swap in a larger box in order to accommodate everything and meet code.

One of those situations where what seemed like a simple repair turns into a nightmare. Try if you can to rearrange everything so you can add a extension using a wire nut. You might be able to get a bit more room by replacing the existing nuts with smaller ones.

If there is simply no room at all, then you'll need to replace the box with a larger one. This is a real easy job to botch, as you'll probably need to cut the box out and do it without damaging the wiring.

Oooooo, I'm liking the push-in connectors.

This old house was wired by an amateur (my Father-in-Law) and every box is overfilled or really tight (short) wirenut splices or both.

Gonna get me a handful of those next time I'm in town.

solder a extension on with a uninsulated butt connector then insulate it with electrical heat shrink tubing

Butt splice a few pieces of stranded wire to the short leads. Least amount of space taken up.

I don't see how those push in connectors can be approved. All that little finger has to do is get hot and lose it's tension and you have a lose wire in a hole ready to arc and start a fire if the heating of the finger didn't already start a fire. I won't have them. I am not an electrician, this just seems like common sense. I want a screw connection, solder, or wire nut. And I don't like crimp on but splices on anything that is solid wire or more load than say vehicle wiring.

We did a whole floor of a building with those connectors . before the end of the job some were causing open circuits. Contractors love things that save labor.

Thanks for all the information and advice.

The code does not allow solder connections.

Look up Wago lever nuts. Much better than the simple push-on junctions.