How to Add a Pull Chain Switch to a Ceiling Light

In this video, I'll teach you how to add a pull chain switch to a ceiling fixture.

[@dangsxgomez]

Dude, this saved me so much time and hassle trying to find a good pull chain fixture. They're becoming relics, apparently. Thanks for keeping it short and simple

[@erickfunk2557]

Great to hear. Thanks for watching.

[@michaelramming109]

I wish you would have shown wiring into the house, but I figured it out from this, thanks

[@keebaby1675]

How did you do it?

[@GiefReplays]

thanks man, accidentally bought a fixture without a pull chain and this will help me salvage the situation.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@pamelavolker541]

Thanks, for info on how to do this with pull chain. My in laws took globe off light and have been standing on a stool unscrewing light bulb to turn light fixture off. Sadly, they have been doing this for past 20yrs and I had no idea.

[@erickfunk2557]

Yikes, lol. Thanks for watching and glad it worked.

[@sharonshookup]

My 125 year old home had been converted to a restaurant at one time and there are 5 ceiling lights in the living/dining room which all go on and off at the same time with the wall switch. So I just installed pull-chain sockets for the bulbs and I have control of which ones I want on. I also just bought the pull chain you have in the video for two new chandeliers in the same room. It will be no problem installing these brass lamps and matching the chain and pull knob so that it looks fine. Thank you.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching Sharon. Glad it was able to help you.

[@Rizzle921]

Sharon, good idea! I have 2 hallway lights on the same switch and I just might install pull chains on them!

[@Rizzle921]

Finally someone explaining what I need. I've only seen how to replace these on lamps. We have a vanity light that had its own switch and we wanted to put a new fixture up, we had to add a push button to a vanity light, since we didn't want the hassle of running a wall switch. So the black to the black IN the fixture then the black to the black coming out of the wall and white to white.

[@erickfunk2557]

Hi Kelly, yep it does sound that way. I’m not an electrician but watched him hook it up and that’s pretty much what he did.

[@goddessofgreen1]

Heck yeah. Easy breezy. Just what I was looking for. Thanks!

[@erickfunk2557]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@JayZoop]

Thanks Ed Norton. The video is great. You saved me lot of time trying to find a fixture with a built in pull chain.

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad it helped. Thanks for watching.

[@amerwiccanandproud]

This is exactly what I needed to know, thank you!

[@erickfunk2557]

Your welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@edwarddutra7829]

I’m glad I saw this video because this is exactly what I need to do for one room in my house. Thank you

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad it worked for you. Thanks for watching!

[@CompostWatcher]

Thank you so much for the help.

[@erickfunk2557]

Your welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@rochellesecord468]

Thank you Erik Funk. Very straight forward.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@shaletalyons3728]

Thanks for the video. I bought two new light with pull chains but really don't like them but now I can keep the old ones and do this and save me some money.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@lynnsaflok6124]

Outstanding and much easier that i thought it would be! Thank you for sharing!

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad it worked for you. Thanks for watching.

[@ForeverHisforever]

Thank you 😊❤

[@erickfunk2557]

Your welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@dawno9007]

Thank you for this video! Very easy to to follow!

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching!

[@knightryder5292]

Nice makes life much easier keep them vids pumping

[@imaginera]

Thank you very much, this was perfect!

[@erickfunk2557]

You are welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@taxspecialists5529]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad it worked for you. Thanks for watching.

[@hectorarias5034]

Simple and helpful thanks.

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad it worked. Thanks for watching.

[@cynthiaboesader493]

Thanks so much. Love you tube. Cynthia

[@erickfunk2557]

Your welcome...Thanks for watching.

[@maryb1938]

This is great. We have an older home and all of the closet lights are hot wired. So we have sockets that have pull chains. There are not many options for a light fixture with a pull chain.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching. Glad it helped.

[@StillWaters56]

Thank you for this video it is a great help with what I want to achieve, however how do you know which was the hot and cold wire since both of them are black? Thanks for sharing.

[@erickfunk2557]

Hello, take a closer look at the video. The black wire from the switch goes to the black wire from the light. Your electrician can hook the lights black wire to hot and white wire to neutral.

[@elsaprahl341]

That question is exactly what made me go in search of videos showing installation. The package my switch came in has a tiny diagram labelling one wire (the one closest to the chain, in my case) "load" and the other "line." Some googling told me that "line" is incoming power, and "load" is outgoing power. So with that in mind, the "load" wire is the one I'll connect to the fixture. (I'm not sure how much it matters which wire gets connected to the fixture... I think it just matters that one black wire attaches to the fixture's black wire and the other black wire attaches to the house's black wire (or in my case, the smooth wire from the cord I'm using)).

[@jpro112185]

I just changed mine from an ugly simple pull chain, to a nice faux wooden one that I got from a job site. Halfway through I realized it was an old house and there was no switch. Luckily I went to tech school for electrical and just took the pull chain off of the old fixture. The wood is thicker so I need a longer chain, so I will do this in a couple days or so. Nice video though, I was wondering if anyone had done this before. I was searching for a remote controlled switch but I'm only guessing they make them. I haven't seen any that I'm aware of...every invention I think of has already been made or being made. Thx again and take care!

[@erickfunk2557]

Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@nshizirugumoise6783]

Perfectly my dear frend

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@vinavina44]

Can this be used on one of two ceiling lights, that work on the same wall switch? I don't always want to use them at the same time, but also don't want to have to wire a second wall switch.

[@erickfunk2557]

Hi Savina, you can use it this way too, just remember you’ll need to keep the switch on to work the light with the pull chain.

[@hjander]

Thanks

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@THOMASGPII]

If you can do that you can install it.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@shanewaldron2971]

I did this but when I turn the main breaker back on it shorts out. What’s causing it? It’s an old house and there was a single light fixture on the wall with a pull string. I the inside there’s two whites tied up and two blacks tied up that were connected to additional black and white of the old fixture. I’m wondering if it’s shorting out because the new fixture is 2 lights instead of one? Thanks

[@erickfunk2557]

Hi Shane, I'm not an electrician but I did watch him hook it up and the black from the switch went to the black coming from the ceiling and the white from the light went to the white from the fixture. Definitely sounds like you have a short somewhere.

[@lisaOlisaOlisaOlisa]

Safety caveats: I'm not an electrician and I don't fully understand your description, so this t-shoot might be wrong for what you have. Test the current on the mains black wires to make sure you don't have a mains failure. If current is present, the rat's nest of wires might be arcing. Add pigtails to the mains black wires and the mains white wires. The double-socket light fixture should be pigtailed out of the box; if not, pigtail it. Then connect a black switch wire to the black fixture pigtail, a black switch wire to the black mains pigtail, and the white fixture pigtail to the white mains pigtail. To avoid shorting out a fixture you care about, test with something you don't.

[@ForrestMatson-vd9gw]

I used a step bit to drill the hole

[@erickfunk2557]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

[@dwnsouthtx210]

Instead of a pull chain do they make push buttons or off-on switches that can installed the same way?

[@erickfunk2557]

I’m sure they do. Check out Lowe’s or Google it.

[@lisaOlisaOlisaOlisa]

Yes. I had to resort to e8ay to find a brass push button. Search for "push button canopy switch."

[@marttyd]

How about adding a pull chain to ceiling fan? My regency ceiling fan is on one single pole switch. When I turn on fan both light and fan come on. I’d like a pull chain for both. Electrician said to get universal remote. I’d rather have light come on with switch and fan with pull chain.

[@erickfunk2557]

Marty, I’m not sure how you would do that. Maybe your electrician can assist as it depends on your fan.

[@elvergalarga8477]

How do you open the plastic where you pull the chain

[@erickfunk2557]

The dome doesn’t come off but instead install it on the metal rim.

[@dougbarlow3010]

I use a step bit. No reaming.

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for the suggestion, appreciated it.

[@thumper6425]

👍

[@erickfunk2557]

Thanks for watching.

[@DreddPirateRoberts]

Basically, you showed us how to drill a hole. Brilliant.

[@bonniedavis9076]

You should have completed the installation

[@erickfunk2557]

Hi Bonnie, I would however you need to be a licensed electrician to perform this type of installation in the state I live in. Thanks for watching.

[@SasquatchMushrooms]

You didn’t explain how to install it. That’s the whole point

[@oscarmoreira8304]

Weird solution. Who needs a chain hanging from a lamp in the middle of the room? Because that's a ceiling lamp! What happened with the wall switch? Why don't you better install a smart switch and turn the light on from the confort of your sofa or from the other end of the world if you want. Kind of weird thing...

[@erickfunk2557]

These lights had power running to them without access for any switch. This is what the owners wanted. Thanks for watching.

[@lindabarrow4746]

Half the ceiling lights in our old house ONLY have pull chains to turn them on or off. No wall switches. Sometimes they are actually more convenient in a small room. The trick is finding replacement fixtures when you need them. Thank you Eric for showing how simple this is. I bought two beautiful ceiling fixtures on FB marketplace, not thinking about the need for pull chains, and now I can use them.