Hello, I was wondering i f anyone can give me some info as how to go about the following. I need to extend an existing circuit with 3 additional lights each on a single pole switch. The switches are going to be placed in different locations in one room but I would like to wire them in parallel, in other words, the source goes to one switch and goes on to the following 2, without interrupting the power when I turn off one of those lights. A diagram or instreuctions would be great. Thanks in advance.
Wiring the switches will be the easy part. Installing the boxes and getting the wires from box to box will be the problem if you already have the sheet rock on the walls.
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Here is a pretty good example. There are hundreds.
You would take your feed cable from where you're extending it from, and run it to the first switch box. Then you'd run another cable from that switch box to the next and so on. In each box, you connect the whites together and include the white that is going to the light controlled by that switch. You connect the black wires from the feed in and out, together, along with a pigtail to the switch that feeds the light in that box
Is this what you mean? 3 lights, each controlled by a separate switch? Or did you mean something else?
AC in ------------------------ | | | .-. .-. .-. ( X ) ( X ) ( X ) Lights '-' '-' '-' | | | | | | \\ o \\ o \\ o \\ \\ \\ \\. \\. \\. on/off switches o o o | | | AC in ------------------------ (created by AACircuit v1.28 beta 10/06/04
If you can't work that out it is respectfully suggested that you get someone competent to help. Need to ask a question like that perhaps suggests that there are other aspects of wiring expertise with which you are not familiar such as how to connect the grounds? Connection of wires within the 'octagon' boxes etc.
Switches go in the live lead between the supply and the light. The neutrals (in North American practice anyway) are unswitched.
You have however 'almost' answered your own question. As you mention the existing circuit is extended to the first switch which switches on the light associated with it. the wiring then goes to a second switch which switches/controls its light and so on.
We presume the existing circuit has the capacity for three more lights? Lighting circuits are often not too heavily loaded but it should be checked.
However you may be referring to ceiling wired light fixtures? In that case the extended wiring may go to the first ceiling fixture box where its live lead (usually black) will go down to a single pole wall switch to come back up to switch on that light. The wiring will then go to the second ceiling fixture box where the live lead will once again go down to a wall switch and come back up to switch on that light etc. The third one same way. This is something a handy man could do in less than than an hour.
Colour of wires may be important in some jurisdictions and for insurance purposes. For example our inspectors 'prefer' red as 'switched live' but will allow a white lead to be a 'switched' live, provided it is marked. I sometimes use red tape or red nail polish to identify a white wire which is a switched live although it is usually pretty obvious, in a wall switch box, anyway. Otherwise white is generally used for neutrals.
Use proper wiring practice and materials such as 'wire nuts' etc. Ground all boxes and ensure ground is continuous from all of them back to the supply.
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