Dan, The standard is pretty much your option 2. You run the power to the light fixture (octagon box) as well as the switch leg. If you're using standard Romex for the switch leg, connect the white to the black power source and the black (switched leg) to the fixture so that the fixture gets energized with a black wire connected to a black wire. Simply short the neutral from the source to the neutral of the fixture with a wire nut.
Darrin Darrin Porter Senior Technical Engineer United Ocean Services, L.L.C. 601 South Harbour Island Boulevard, Suite 230 Tampa, Florida 33602 (813) 209-4247 (office) (813) 744-0011 (cellular phone) (813) 242-4849 (fax) darrin.por...@united-mar.comm<mailto:darrin.por...@united-mar.comm> ________________________________ From: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com [mailto:blindhandy...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dan Rossi Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 2:19 PM 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 ________________________________ Attention: This email and any accompanying attachments constitute confidential and/or legally privileged information. If you have received this email communication in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the message and any attachments from your system. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
