# three lights one light switch



## secutanudu (Mar 15, 2009)

How were the lights wired before you started?

Were there switches for each light?


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

You most likely have the two distant lights hooked up to the always HOT wire. Make sure you hook up all lights to the switch leg from the switch. If you are using 2-conductor cable w/ground to feed the switch, you use the white wire of the 2-conductor cable w/ground as the HOt to the switch. Just tape both ends of the white wire with black tape to indicate it is a HOT conductor.

Possibly run 3-conductor cable w/ground to the switch. Use the black and reds hooked up to the switch and leave the white capped off. This way you have a neutral at the switch box if needed.

In crude diagram below I did not show any ground wires.

The 2nd photo shows a junction box with the white wire taped black.


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

Below shows how to use a 3 conductor cable to have a neutral at the switch box. Again no grounds are shown.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

I noticed that in one of the preceding pictures two wires going to a switch were white.

While that may still occur properly, I would interrupt to remind us that the wire carrying the switched power up to the lights may not be white. Choose one of the other roles to be played with a white wire if there aren't enough colored wires.

Some electricians suggest, for 3 way switches (not the topic of this thread) that the unswitched hot be sent, via the white wire if needed, to the farthest switch box.


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

AllanJ said:


> I noticed that in one of the preceding pictures two wires going to a switch were white.
> 
> While that may still occur properly, I would interrupt to remind us that the wire carrying the switched power up to the lights may not be white. Choose one of the other roles to be played with a white wire if there aren't enough colored wires.


DO not understand the queens english or what you mean by 
* "While that may still occur properly"*

Anyway I took the photo down of the 3-way and put up a junction box with a switch loop in it showing white taped black. 

good call


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

This is what I think was attempted. It is not to code if a neutral is required in the switch box in your region.


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

This was the original photo in my post #3 that Alan was commenting on in his post.


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