Turn off all power supply to the room in which you will be working. Unscrew the wire nut holding the two black wires together on your existing light.
How To Add A Light
Adding a light switch to an existing switch. 1 connect all of the bare wires together with a wirenut including a 6 bare pigtail to the grounding screw on the switch and a pigtail to the box grounding screw if it is metal. Going to the breaker the existing light and the new switchbox. This 3 wire switch loop satisfies the nec requirement of a neutral in the switch box. With the light switch turned off hold the noncontact voltage detector against each of the wires connected to the switch. The biggest challenge is planning the cable route and running it from the fixture to the new wall switch position. At the existing switchbox you should have three each of black white and bare.
Wrap the black wire from the existing light fixture around one screw on the right side of the original switch. Will it be easy enough to remove the existing light switch box where you want to add the 2nd light switch. This is the hot wire and the one youll connect to the hot side of the new double switch. Making a list is an important part of your adding a 2nd light switch project. How to wire an additional light to an existing light switch adding a light to a circuit. If the wall is heavily insulated push conduit through the insulation and then feed wires or cable through the conduit.
Take note of which wire causes the tester to light up. Check that there is no. Wrap one black pigtail around the other screw and tighten both screws. You can usually install a light fixture between an existing one and the switch by cutting the cable to the existing fixture at the location of the new one inserting the ends of the cable into the electrical box for the new fixture and pigtailing the new fixture onto these wires. In this diagram a new switch and light are added to an already existing light switch. The source for this circuit is at an already existing light fixture and a 3 wire switch loop run from there to the switch box.
Adding a wall switch to a ceiling fixture can be done in a matter of hours. Wiring the new light. Wrap the black wire from your new light fixture around a screw on the right side of the new switch.
Gallery of Adding A Light Switch To An Existing Switch
