Test Two Separate Wall Switches To Same Light

Wiring two switches for two lights.

Test two separate wall switches to same light.

Wiring two switches to one light fixture adds convenience to any room with two entryways. Your power supply line the black wire should be feeding both switches and those switches power the fan black or the light blue. Stairwells hallways and large rooms with multiple access are all candidates for 3 way circuits. My question is how do i wire this up so that either switch will control the light without having to touch the other switch.

Once you pull the 14 3 cable and the circuit power source wires from the switch boxes. One switch will be located outside on the porch and the other switch will be on the inside wall next to the door. A hot wire red or black comes out of the wall and into one switch then out of that switch and into the other one. I know this can be done but i don t have a clue how to connect the switches to the fixture.

To do this method the wire from your wall circuit to your light has to have 3 wires. This is common with some older boxes when you have two single switches hooked up instead of one double switch. The source is at the switch box and a 2 wire cable is run to each light. Connect black fan wire to the black ceiling wire.

How to wire two separate switches lights using the same power source. A single wall switch controls the power to the fan and light together whereas a dual wall switch has two separate switches one for the fan and the other for the light. An existing wall dimmer switch must be replaced with a single on off wall switch before installing a hunter fan to ensure consistent power flow from the switch to the fan. One source is spliced to each switch with a pigtail to power the two lights.

Here two switches are wired in the same box to control two separate lights. This method allows you to operate the fan and light power separately. There are also four way five way and a gazillion way circuits. Some gang boxes are in locations that do not allow the box to be expanded to add a separate light switch.

It isn t unusual to wire two or more light and switch combinations from the same power source in fact it s common practice. It may in some cases even return to the wall from the second switch. After making sure the power is off you strip the black wire in the two conductor cable which also has a ground wire and make a pigtail with two 6 inch lengths of black wire salvaged from a spare piece of cable of the same wire gauge. As the diagram at electrical 101 shows the line cable is all you need to supply power to a pair of switches in a single electrical box.