Adding Ceiling Light


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Old 05-13-12, 09:16 AM
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Adding Ceiling Light

I recently bought an older home built in the late 1960's. None of the bedrooms had a ceiling light. Each room had a light switch at the door that controlled the outlet on the same wall. I've been able to wire three of the rooms so that the outlet is always on and the ceiling light is then controlled by the switch. I attempted to do the same in another bedroom and found something slightly different. I'm not completely sure how to rewire the outlet so that it's always on and have the switch control the ceiling light I'm about to install. Below is the link I used for the other bedrooms and two drawings one of the current spec and one of what I would like to do. The outlets are bridged in the diagram so both top and bottom are currently controlled by the switch.


Link I've used in the last few bedrooms for reference.
Rewire a Switch that Controls an Outlet to Control an Overhead Light or Fan - One Project Closer


Current drawing:



Drawing with ceiling light:



Thanks!
 
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Old 05-13-12, 09:24 AM
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Please just tell us the wiring at the receptacle and switch. Tell us how many 2-conductor cables and any 3-conductor cables if present. Tell us how the black and (and red if present) and white of each cable is connected. Tell us if power comes in at the switch or the receptacle.

Tech note: A 2-conductor cable has a black and white and usually a ground. A 3-conductor cable has black, red, white and usually a ground.
 
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Old 05-13-12, 09:52 AM
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Wires

There are three romex lines coming into the outlet. One goes to the switch, the switch wire has black and white. The black goes to the top plug on the outlet and the white ties into a wire nut with the two blacks from the other romex. The second romex has a white and black, the white goes to the outlet and the black again ties into the wirenut. The third romex has a white that goes to the outlet and the black again ties to the wire nut. One of the non-switch romex lines brings in power to the outlet, the other returns out to another outlet. The switch has no other incoming wires.
 
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Old 05-13-12, 10:35 AM
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There are multiple ways but the following assumes you will run a new 2-conductor cable between the light and switch box giving you a total of two 2-conductor cables at the switch.

At the receptacle:
If the tab between the brass screws is removed replace with a receptacle with unbroken tab.
Connect all of the black wires to a pigtail.
Connect all of the white wires to a pigtail.
Connect the black pigtail to one of the receptacle brass screws.
Connect the white pigtail to one of the receptacle white screws.

At the switch:
Connect the two white wires together.
Connect one black wire to each screw of the switch.

Grounds connected in the normal manner.
 
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Old 05-13-12, 11:02 AM
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Thank you!

Thank you! That's exactly what I needed!

Thanks again!
 
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Old 05-13-12, 11:25 AM
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I'm not completely sure how to rewire the outlet so that it's always on and have the switch control the ceiling light I'm about to install.
Power comes into the receptacle box. At the switch, remove the white wire. Run a new 2-wire cable from the switch box to the ceiling light location. Splice (and wire-nut) the two whites together behind the switch and connect the new black wire to the switch where you removed the white wire.

At the receptacle, splice all three black wires together with a pigtail for the receptacle. Do the same with the three white wires. Connect the receptacle to the two pigtails.
 
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Old 05-13-12, 11:58 AM
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Let me add for your future wiring. Memorizing diagrams isn't the best way to learn to wire. Use them instead as a aid to understanding how a circuit works. Once you learn how a circuit works you just wire it so it works not according to any specific diagram except maybe the one you make up in your head as your wiring it. This way different situations that don't fit memorized diagrams don't puzzle you..
 
 

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