# Electric outlet / light on same switch



## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi
I have a switch that controls a light fixture, and an outlet. What I am trying to do is keep the outlet hot and use the switch for just the light. The switch wiring is as follows, black wire pushed into plug, another black wire on screw next to plug. Red wire pushed into bottom plug with no wire on the screw. 2 white wires connected with cap. 
So I took the black wire off of top screw put it with red wire now the light and outlet are always on. It appears to me that the black wire on the screw goes to both the light and outlet, and the black in the plug does nothing. I did not look at the outlets wiring itself. Does this sound like a configuration anyone has seen before, and is it possible to separate the outlet from the switch without totally rewiring the circuit?


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## Gac66610 (Aug 25, 2012)

Fieldy1123 said:


> Hi
> I have a switch that controls a light fixture, and an outlet. What I am trying to do is keep the outlet hot and use the switch for just the light. The switch wiring is as follows, black wire pushed into plug, another black wire on screw next to plug. Red wire pushed into bottom plug with no wire on the screw. 2 white wires connected with cap.
> So I took the black wire off of top screw put it with red wire now the light and outlet are always on. It appears to me that the black wire on the screw goes to both the light and outlet, and the black in the plug does nothing. I did not look at the outlets wiring itself. Does this sound like a configuration anyone has seen before, and is it possible to separate the outlet from the switch without totally rewiring the circuit?


Have you pulled the switch out, to see what on it?


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## k_buz (Mar 22, 2012)

Turn off power. Take the red wire off the receptacle. Take the two blacks off the receptacle. Splice two pigtails with the two black wires. Run one pigtail to each of the screw terminals on the receptacle. The screws you run the pigtails to should be brass not silver. Cap off the red wire with a wire nut. Turn power back on.


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## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

Sorry fairly amatuer here. When you say receptacle do you mean switch or outlet? And can you explain the pigtails? BTW I have pulled out the switch, the wiring I described is on the switch not the outlet.


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## k_buz (Mar 22, 2012)

Receptacle=Outlet
Switch=switch

Pigtail


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## Gac66610 (Aug 25, 2012)

k_buz said:


> Turn off power. Take the red wire off the receptacle. Take the two blacks off the receptacle. Splice two pigtails with the two black wires. Run one pigtail to each of the screw terminals on the receptacle. The screws you run the pigtails to should be brass not silver. Cap off the red wire with a wire nut. Turn power back on.


This is very well explained.( and may be the easiest way to accomplish task)

My thought was to take the red off the screw terminal of switch and move it to the other screw terminal, of course this is assuming they are not pigtailed in the switch.


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## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

So I opened the receptacle and this is what I see top silver screw white wire. Bottom silver screw white and black wire, top brass screw red wire bottom brass white wire. In the box there is 2 black wires capped together.


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## Gac66610 (Aug 25, 2012)

Is the receptacle half switched or both top and bottom switched?


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## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

Both top and bottom switched


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## Gac66610 (Aug 25, 2012)

Just re-read your OP, I missed you saying the switch and didn't register what wires were moved.(sorry)
Try moving the other black wire on the switch.
That should provide you with requested results.


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## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

Tried switching the other black wire. Made no change outlet still switched with light.


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## Gac66610 (Aug 25, 2012)

Can you attach pictures of receptacle and switch?
Maybe the wiring at the light fixture as well.


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## Fieldy1123 (Oct 6, 2012)

Nope but I can email them to you. I'm on my iPhone it won't let me attach photos.


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## andrew79 (Mar 25, 2010)

When he says plug he's talking about a backstab connection. The red is the always hot at the switch. Find the black that controls the plug(receptacle). Backstab connections are terrible so take the red wire at the switch and the black wire at the switch that travels to the receptacle and wirenut them together. Pigtail out to the terminal screw on the switch. The other black which is the one that travels to the light goes on the other terminal screw of the switch. Leave receptacle wiring as it originally was.


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

Is the receptacle in the same box as the switch? The wiring diagram attached will accompish what you want done which is receptacle always hot and the light switched.

Grounds are not shown for ease of drawing,


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## andrew79 (Mar 25, 2010)

Incomming power, switch loop and neutral are Comming down from the light or up for the plug in a three wire. Other than that as usual excellent drawing.


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## hammerlane (Oct 6, 2011)

andrew79 said:


> Incomming power, switch loop and neutral are Comming down from the light or up for the plug in a three wire. Other than that as usual excellent drawing.


I didnt catch that in any of his posts that the power was originating at the light source


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## andrew79 (Mar 25, 2010)

He's got two blacks a red and two whites at the switch box. Either power comes from receptacle or light in my opinion with the way it was wired. I think there's a lot of confusion with the fact he was calling the backstab connection on the switch a plug.


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## fern78450 (Jan 14, 2022)

Fieldy1123 said:


> Salut
> J’ai un interrupteur qui contrôle un luminaire et une prise. Ce que j’essaie de faire, c’est de garder la prise chaude et d’utiliser l’interrupteur uniquement pour la lumière. Le câblage de l’interrupteur est le suivant, fil noir enfoncé dans la fiche, un autre fil noir sur vis à côté de la fiche. Fil rouge enfoncé dans la fiche inférieure sans fil sur la vis. 2 fils blancs reliés par un capuchon.
> J’ai donc enlevé le fil noir de la vis supérieure et je l’ai mis avec du fil rouge maintenant que la lumière et la prise sont toujours allumées. Il me semble que le fil noir sur la vis va à la fois à la lumière et à la prise, et le noir dans la fiche ne fait rien. Je n’ai pas regardé le câblage des prises lui-même. Cela ressemble-t-il à une configuration que quelqu’un a déjà vue et est-il possible de séparer la prise de l’interrupteur sans recâbler totalement le circuit?
> [/CITATION]


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

Fern, this thread is 9 years old.


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## fern78450 (Jan 14, 2022)

Jim Port said:


> Fern, ce fil a 9 ans.
> [/CITATION]
> 
> 
> ...


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

This site is primarily in English. Do you have a question?


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