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(Note that the pig tail may not be necessary if you are directly wiring in a light fixture. Using a wire nut, twist and connect the black wires from the two Romex cables together, along with a 5-6” pig tail (using just a length of black shielded wire extracted from a small length of spare Romex cable).Īttach the black pigtail to one side of the light circuit. Make sure that when attaching wires to screws that the wires are bent into a curved shape that are mounted in a clockwise position around the screws. Fasten this bare ground wire to the green screw on the switch. Note that one of the wires should protrude out the end of the “Greeny”. Use a wire nut to connect the two white wires (return lines) together.įinally, twist the two bare ground wires together using a “Greeny” wire nut. Ĭonnect the black wire from the feed cable to the brass screw on the single pole light switch.Ĭonnect the black wire coming from the light electrical box to the silver screw on the single pole light switch.
Wire multiple lights one switch how to#
Learn how to pull Romex cable through a wall here. A second Romex cable should be fed from the light switch to one of the light electrical boxes.Ī third Romex cable should be fed between the two light electrical boxes. To rough in a circuit where two lights are controlled from one switch a Romex cable should first be fed from the panel into the light switch electrical box. 14-2 Romex cable is used for 15 amp circuits and 12-2 Romex cable is used for 20 amp circuits. Typically either 14-2 or 12-2 Romex cable is used in these types of circuits. It is imperative that power be first turned off at the circuit breaker, and then tested at the switch and light fixtures to make sure they are indeed off prior to performing any electrical work on them. Warning – Household electricity can injure and even kill you if you come in contact with it.
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There are a variety of ways to wire this type of circuit, however I will focus on the case where power is fed from the main circuit panel into the single pole switch electrical box.
Wire multiple lights one switch full size#
To view it in full size – click on the diagram.A common residential wiring circuit found in many homes is two lights controlled from one switch.
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Refer to the following diagram for a visual. This will allow you to connect the first light as you described above, and to run this additional light from the same switch by utilizing the red conductor in the 3-wire as the “switched” conductor, and the black wire as the continuous hot wire.Ĭonfused yet? A picture is always worth a thousand words. To wire this circuit in this manner, you will need to run a #14/3 between the two light boxes. I would appreciate your assistance in helping me out, Thanks. My question is I want to run both lights off the same switch, so from this first light box that I just wired what wire cable do I use to go to the next light box (, octagon box) and then to the next two device boxes for the plug receptacles?ĭo I use a three wire cable between the two lights ? Or do I have to run a three wire cable from the switch instead of a two wire cable?įrom the second light to the next two plug boxes would I use # 14 two wire cable again? This is where I am lost. I would also connect my ground wires to the switch box, octagon box, and device box. I realize now that the white wire at the switch is now (hot). The white wire that is connected to the switch will then connect with the black wire coming from the supply cable from the plug receptacle. I know that if I was to run a light switch to only one light I would connect the black wire from the switch via the light box (octagon box) directly onto the light fixture gold terminal and the white wire from the supply cable i.e.: (coming from the device box for the plug receptacle via the sub panel) to the silver terminal on the light holder. What I want to do is have both lights work off the same switch. – Run a #14 -2 wire from the sub panel box to a device box for a plug receptacle, then to a light box (octagon box), and then to another light box (octagon box) and finally to another two device boxes for plug receptacles. What my plan will be is to wire a circuit to include the following: Q: I am going to build a new garage and am planning my electrical wiring. This common question comes from a do-it-yourselfer working on his garage wiring who required some assistance wiring a circuit in his garage so that he could control two lights with one switch. This article addresses how to run two lights from one switch.
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