How To Power A Light Switch From The Light Fixture

If you have a light fixture that has the mainline from the circuit breaker box coming into the fixture box then you'll need to send power down to the light switch. This can be a confusing process. However, if this is your situation then this video is going to help.
Watch this video to find out how a fixture box looks when it has power coming from the mainline. In addition, you'll see how to send that power down to the light switch and back up to the fixture so that the switch controls the fixture.
Be sure you have the power turned off and follow your local code laws and proper safety procedures. You may also need to consult an electrician.
You'll Need:
Needle Nose Pliers
ebay.us/3RDyb2
Phillips Screwdriver
ebay.us/z8GOzz
Flat Screwdriver
ebay.us/aWEg8g
Wire Stripper
ebay.us/W6eqtT
Wire Nuts
ebay.us/wk8gas
Electric Tester
ebay.us/GpELt5
Light Switch
Check your local Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, Fleet Farm, Etc
Electrical Wire
Check your local Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, Fleet Farm, Etc
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[@HowToVideoChannel]

Needle Nose Pliers ebay.us/3RDyb2 Phillips Screwdriver ebay.us/z8GOzz Flat Screwdriver ebay.us/aWEg8g Wire Stripper ebay.us/W6eqtT Wire Nuts ebay.us/wk8gas Electric Tester ebay.us/GpELt5 Light Switch Check your local Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, Fleet Farm, Etc Electrical Wire Check your local Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, Fleet Farm, Etc

[@davidlawson6198]

Buddy you don't know the aggravation you have saved me. Not to mention the electrician bill. I was about to pull my hair out. Thank you a million for posting this. 😊

[@HowToVideoChannel]

That’s great to hear! I’m so glad the video helped you. Please consider sharing it on social media to help others as well, and even donating some of your savings to help support this channel!

[@strikeforce27]

I can’t believe I finally came across this video A big thank you !! I searched for months thinking how to do this . Finally got my light fixture to work !! Again big thanks

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad it helped! Hope you’ll consider sharing the video to help others find it as well!

[@janetpalmer6550]

Me too, it was exactly what I needed to do.

[@PatrickEArchuleta-fs8bv]

Ive seen videos on how to wire switches from the light source,yours is second to none totally awesome thanks for refreshing this old mans mind , every other video wants you to use 14. 3 you really don't need it for switching switches so again thank you And may God continue to bless you and your family 😊

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Thank you so much! I’m glad the video helped you. Hopefully, it will continue to help others as well!

[@mcsisawesome]

Thank you for this video! Great explanation and good for people like me who are starting to dabble in improving their house.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Steven.Thrash]

This was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad it was helpful! Consider sharing or donating to support the channel!

[@carlosdanger1843]

Life saver! Thank you!

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad it helped!

[@melodies38]

You have been a blessing to me.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Thank you! Great to hear that. Hope you like and subscribe!

[@oscarflores-gd8lp]

Very helpful

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad you think so!

[@RCInsiders]

Well done my friend 💯

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@RCInsiders]

@@HowToVideoChannel 🍻

[@joaquimsales5208]

Thanks!

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@stevevadney9460]

Should put some black tape on white wire from switch

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Yes, it’s good to label the wires to help keep them straight.

[@montanamoments9989]

Great video! Really helped me understand the old wiring in my first home. How would I power two other switches off this single source of power? I'm trying to add a bath vent van that has a light and the fan

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad it helped! You’ll have to run additional wires sort of like adding extra outlets. But it will be complex depending on whether you want the switches to control different lights or the same lights. Take a look at the other wiring videos on this channel. I’m sure they’ll be helpful as well.

[@6creed933]

Thanks for the video. Now for multiple lights it would be the same way. All the neutrals go to the power wire and the blacks go to the neutral going to the switch?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Yes, that should work. Then the switch would control all of the lights.

[@ShaneBakerTV]

Thanks so much! What if you have to send power from that fixture into the next fixture in the next room? I'm guessing everything the same except the H and N from the load come in from breaker would connect directly to the line going to the next fixture?? Is that clear as mud?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

You would need to pigtail the H and N from the breaker. Sort of like if you run multiple outlets and pigtail off the main line to power each outlet. This is slightly more complex since you’ll have an additional wire from the switch to the fixture for each room. However, if you only have one switch for all rooms then you can simply run the wires directly to the next fixture without pigtailing. Exactly like wiring multiple can lights in a ceiling.

[@user-sg2pj2hx4h]

Great video but how would I introduce a ceiling fan to this mix. Thank you.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

It really depends on what the existing set up is. Are there multiple switches, are there extra wires in the ceiling?

[@ActinOut]

It's would be wise (actually its code) to put a few wraps of black tape on both ends of the white wire going to & from the switch to indicate it's being used as a power in the application rather than the common or neutral that the white shielding would typically indicate. So that white wire connected to the blue wire should have a few turns of black wire near the end (as well as at the switch end) as part of the setup.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

That is a good practice.

[@kipkroeger2552]

I had the same issue...as old light fixture was hot with toggle switch.....now makes sense... My question is can the can new line be a 12/3 wire ....and if so, how is it properly wired?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

As long as the current wire is 12 gauge then that should be fine.

[@Ken_Kollection]

Hey man. Love the video. Im really confused about this wiring thing and i really hope you can help me. I have the same situation as in your video, only my fixture is a exhaust fan with a separate light and separate night light. I have a triple switch to connect to (one with a black screw on the left and 3 screws on the right). How in the world do i connect the three separate terminals so they all work separately when the power comes into the fixture first. I have three seperate wires running down to the switch and the loose power cable coming from the breaker box and they are all just laying up in the attic. I did manage to get the fan hooked up like you showed in the video, but i cant figure out how to hook up the light and night light. Any info would help. Thank you for your time

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad you like the video! It seems you’ve got a complex situation on your hands. This is what I understand: the “hot line in” is running from the breaker box to the fixture and you have the exhaust fan wired and working. Now you need to power the light and night light and then connect them to the switches. Since you have the fan working, that means you must have sent power from the “hot line” in the attic down to one of the light switches. Disconnect that and add “pigtails” from the “hot line” to the off screw (bottom) on each switch. Then, run another line from the on screw (top) back up to the light and the night light. Therefore, you’ll have: a hot wire running down to your switch box. One pigtail from the hot wire going to each light switch. So 3 total. 3 wires running from the switch box up to the fixture. One wire for the fan, one for the light, and one for the night light. Each wire connected to its own switch. Hopefully, this helps you with the situation. In addition, please note that any advice you receive or use from me is not to be used in place of or as a substitute for a licensed electrician. You also take it at your own risk.

[@Ken_Kollection]

@@HowToVideoChannel thank you so much. Ill try that when i get home today

[@Ken_Kollection]

@@HowToVideoChannel oh yeah. It isnt 3 switches. Its one tripple switch that has one black screw on the left for the power and 3 screws on the right for each switch. Thats the problem. Thanks

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Okay, so send the hot line into the one screw. Probably keep it like you have it since you have one switch working for the fan. Then, treat the other two screws as if they are switches. Send one line to the light and one line to the night light.

[@Ken_Kollection]

@@HowToVideoChannel sorry to keep asking questions but i just tried to wire it up and it still doesnt work. Only the fan works. What am i supposed to do with all the white wires?

[@darrellweston3998]

At the breaker, black wire to breaker white wire to neutral strip and ground to ground bar?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Sounds right

[@user-vj2rs8sl9u]

I would wrap a piece of black electrical tape on the white hot wire connected to the blue fixture wire to designate as a hot wire.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Yes. That works well!

[@Rachid-zw9eu]

i did the same set up but i need the neutral wire for smart dimmer light where i get it from since the neutral is hot now

[@HowToVideoChannel]

You probably need another wire.

[@Rachid-zw9eu]

@@HowToVideoChannel thanks for your reply. So do you think i can loop just the neutral from the box in ceiling

[@HowToVideoChannel]

That would most likely work. You should run your plan by a local electrician to make sure it’s up to code.

[@daveclark1904]

Ok this is the same situation i have with my basement lights. I built a pantry and want to use the existing light switch wire, that's just like this demonstration, to another light switch on the other side of the wall with can lights in the pantry. There's no other power source in the area so is it possible to do? I've tried a handful of different connections and they either don't work or it's like the lights and switches are crossed... any suggestions? I hope i explained that correct haha

[@HowToVideoChannel]

So you want to have the lights controlled by 2 different switches?

[@daveclark1904]

@@HowToVideoChannel 2 different sets of lights using the one wire coming down the wall to the existing switch, if that's possible ..

[@HowToVideoChannel]

So one switch that controls two light fixtures in two different locations?

[@daveclark1904]

@@HowToVideoChannel sorry. No I have the one existing wire coming down to a switch. I wanna run another switch off that wire as well that controls another set of lights on the other side of the wall. Or do I need to tap into another power source?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

So you have an existing fixture and switch. You would like to add a new switch that will control a different fixture. The end result will be two separate fixtures and switches. The existing fixture and switch has the power in the fixture. You’d like to send power from that to the new fixture and switch. Your power is running from fixture A to switch A. Therefore, you could send the power from switch A to switch B. Then send the power from the switch B to fixture B. Probably not code but as long as it’s all wired correctly it will work.

[@aldorusso167]

If I have a switch on the circuit,can I leave the switch on and add a another switch

[@HowToVideoChannel]

You want to have two switches to control a light?

[@MattHartwick]

can you add a 3 way switch? to this same configuration?

[@HowToVideoChannel]

You would need to run an extra wire, but essentially, yes.

[@MattHartwick]

My problem was the first switch feed was a powered by the light fixture itself. I realized I had to use the white on the common@@HowToVideoChannel

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Glad you got it figured out!

[@danielo.959]

Can I run 3 light fixtures for one wire/connection ?

[@danielo.959]

From

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Yes, that shouldn’t be an issue.

[@lindastu5857]

What if there is another set of wire to an outlet? That you don't want to use a switch on

[@HowToVideoChannel]

If they are extra wires that you don’t need then you can coil them and put a wire nut on the ends.

[@tflann3487]

Powder room application, same scenario as your video, however I would like to add an outlet next to the light switch. Can the outlet be powered directly from the switch? It would be fine if the outlet would not function if the light switch is off.

[@HowToVideoChannel]

Yes, you can add an outlet. You’ll probably have to pigtail from the hot line so that your outlet has continuous power.