Hi Dan Step One
(Refer to Figure 1.) Connect the ground (bare wire) wire to the device box and cut it off approximately one inch past the ground screw. Connect the black wire to one screw and the white wire (hot) to the other screw on the switch. Figure 1. Note: This is the only time that you want to use a white wire as the "hot" conductor. This is done so you are left with a black and a white wire at the light instead of two whites to hook up to your light. Step Two (Refer to Figure 2.) Usually you will have a 2 conductor #14 <http://www.electrical-online.com/Lightsandswitches.htm> cable coming from the light box to the switch box. Conductor is a fancy word for wire and #14 is the size of wire you will use throughout 95% of your house. Figure 2. At the light box (octagon box) connect the black wire from the switch to the black wire of the light. Also connect the white wire from the switch to the black conductor coming from the breaker. Found here http://www.electrical-online.com/Lightsandswitches.htm From: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:blindhandy...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dan Rossi Sent: Saturday, 6 February 2010 6:19 AM To: Blind Handyman List Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Wiring a switch. Not that I have any immediate plans of rewiring, but this question popped in my head. I think I've seen a comment about this here before. If you are wiring a switch to a light fixture, do you: #1: Run a set of wires from the power source to the switch, and a set of wires from the switch to the light fixture. In this case, connecting both blacks to the switch terminals, and tieing the two whites together? Do you just stuff the white splice in the box with the switch? #2: Run a set of wires from the power source to the light fixture, and a set of wires from the switch to the light fixture. In this case, The white from the power would connect to the white on the light, and the two switch wires would be connected between the black power, and black light wires. It technically wouldn't matter which orientation you connected the switch wires, but is there a standard? I mean, black power, to black switch, then white switch to black fixture. #3: I assume this one is definitely wrong, but similar to #2. Run power directly to the light fixture, then just interrupt the black wire at some point with the switch wires. I believe choice #1 is the correct option, but is choice #2 against code? Choice #3 seems to be the most efficient use of wire, no parallel runs of wire, but would make it a pain in the ass to ever trace an issue since you wouldn't necessarily know where the switch spliced into the power line. Just a thought for the day. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu <mailto:dr25%40andrew.cmu.edu> Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
