Help me refresh my memory. I did this years ago but forgot: I have a light in a utility room that works on a pull string. I want to wire it to a wall switch. It's just one of those cheap white porcelain lights. Seems like there was something different about doing this. Is this one of those situations where you connect black to white? Thanks.
Yes, the switch leg using a cable does allow you to use a white wire as the hot and the black comes back as the switched leg. You now have to reidentify the white wire to another color, usually with tape.
Yes.
You switch the black, and feed it as white back to the black pigtail at the lamp socket.
Suggest mark it with black tape at this junction.
HIGHLY suggest. it wouldnt hurt to write a note on the back of the switchplate to remind yourself or others either. something like: switch leg, white is hot.
while you're at it, write down the number of the breaker on the back of the switchplate and even the light fixture. saves tons of time later. its not worth a whole job just to mark all your cover plates, but if you do it as you go eventually it will start paying off. this doesnt alleviate the need to test it, but it means youll probably get the breaker first guess.
randy
That is backward. You always make the white the hot wire of a switch leg. Then when someone is changing the lamp fixture they will be presented with a white and a black to match the fixture, not 2 whites. If someone does get deeper in the box they will see a white and black under the same wirenut and that is a signal that there is a switch leg. Since 1999 or so the code requires that the white wire shall be reidentifed (taped) to another color, usually black. It can really be anything BUT white, grey or green.
reidentifed
I stand corrected.
No problem I had to have it explained to me too but when you see it from the aspect of changing a fixture it makes sense.
The black wire (hot) goes through the wall switch and then to the lamp. The white (neutral) wire goes directly to the lamp. The black wire goes to the conductor in the center of the lamp socket. The white wire goes to the conductor on the perimeter (threaded metal) of the lamp socket. Before you do anything, turn off the circuit !
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.