How to Wire a Switch to a Ceiling Light
Wiring a switch to the ceiling light at a convenient location allows you to turn the light off and on when you step into the room. Normal installation of a single pole switch requires two black wires. In some cases you will need to identify a different color wire as a hot wire. Always do this by wrapping black electrical tape on the wire that is a hot wire on your circuit. All electricians will recognize this universal marking of the wire in the future. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic single gang "old work" switch box
- Keyhole saw
- Phillips or slotted screwdriver
- 14/2 nonmetallic (NM) cable
- Dual NM wire stripper/cutter
- Black electrical tape
- Single pole switch
- Single gang switch cover plate
- Orange wire connectors
Instructions
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1
Turn off the circuit breaker inside the main electrical panel that supplies electricity to the ceiling light.
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2
Place the new switch box at a convenient location for you to turn your light off and on. Trace around the template provided with the plastic single gang "old work" switch box. Carefully cut around the trace lines, using a keyhole saw to remove the drywall.
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3
Remove the light shade and the light bulbs from the existing ceiling light to access the screws holding the fixture to the ceiling. Remove the screws to release the fixture and expose the wiring and the electrical box. Untwist the wire connectors connecting the black and white wires together, releasing the light fixture. Set the fixture aside.
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4
Pull a length of 14/2 nonmetallic (NM) cable from the new switch location to the original light electrical box. Use a dual NM wire stripper/cutter to remove the sheath from the 14/2 NM at both locations, exposing the interior black, white and bare copper wires. Strip 3/4-inch of insulation off both the black and white wire and wrap the white wire in black electrical tape at both locations. This establishes the white wire as a hot wire.
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5
Pull the wires into the plastic single gang "old work" switch box and slide the box into the drywall. Connect the plastic box to the drywall by turning the screws on the electrical box, causing the wings attached to the screws to flip up behind the drywall and clamp the box to the wall.
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6
Wrap one black wire from the new switch box around a screw on the right side of the single pole switch and wrap the white wire with black electrical tape around the remaining screw on the right side of the switch. Wrap the bare copper wire around the green ground screw on the switch and tighten all three screws to hold the wires firmly to the single pole switch. Gently push the switch into the new electrical box, attaching it at the top and the bottom of the box. Cover it with a single gang switch cover plate.
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7
Connect the black wire from the ceiling electrical box to the white wire wrapped in black electrical tape by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires. Reconnect the white wire from the ceiling box to the white wire from the light fixture using another orange wire connector.
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8
Twist an orange wire connector onto the two bare copper wires inside the ceiling box, connecting them together. Twist an orange wire connector onto the black wire from the light to the new black wire from the switch to connect them together. Reattach the light fixture to the ceiling box.
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9
Replace the light bulb and the light shade onto the ceiling light and turn the circuit breaker on inside the main electrical panel that supplies electricity to the light.
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Tips & Warnings
Test to verify that the electricity has been disconnected in the area where you are working to avoid electrical shock.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit light switch image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com
