What a miserable job. Still recovering from that, filled up a respirator mask with fibers and dust and shredded a tyvek suit…
On the plus side, looks like I got it done just in time for the cold snap.
Anyway - in my attic spelunking I discovered a wiring run that isn’t connected to anything. I found the “loose” end at one end of the attic, pulled it through a bunch of holes drilled through the floor rafters and traced it back to where it disappears down into a wall into the living space.
It looks like newer wiring than the original construction. Didn’t have my voltmeter to test if it had power, will do that tonight.
If it’s powered, what do I do? Short it to find out what breaker it’s on and then wire nut the ends and put it into a junction box somewhere?
I’d start with the voltmeter, and see if it’s hot. If it isn’t, that really doesn’t tell you much, as it also could be connected to a light switch, that only gets hot when the switch is thrown.
Maybe it was run for an attic fan?? Or, for recessed lights, depending where it went down the wall.
To be safe, I’d just stick it into a gem box, wire nut the ends, and blank plate it. This way, if god forbid, you have a fire, they won’t blame it on a loose wire in the attic.
I’ve got a cheaper version of one of those - I should make sure I take that up to the attic with me every time, but prefer the more certain information a voltmeter offers.