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e-niunia · Jul 11, 2008, 04:13 PM

I live in a 1956 house and started renovating my dining room. I wanted to change the chandelier and found a problem: there is one light switch on the wall and it controls an electrical outlet, not the chandelier. The old chandelier had a on/off switch on it. The new chandelier doesn't have this switch. When I unscrewed the outlet on the wall that is controlled by the light switch, I found a black and white wire that are tied together and tucked in behind the receptacle. Is it possible that those wires control the chandelier? How should I connect them to be able to operate the ceiling light with the wall light switch?

hkstroud · Jul 11, 2008, 05:24 PM

Not likely. What is above the dining room, an attic? In other words do you have access to the wiring in the ceiling?

e-niunia · Jul 11, 2008, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by e-niunia

I live in a 1956 house and started renovating my dining room. I wanted to change the chandelier and found a problem: there is one light switch on the wall and it controls an electrical outlet, not the chandelier. The old chandelier had a on/off switch on it. The new chandelier doesn't have this switch. When I unscrewed the outlet on the wall that is controlled by the light switch, I found a black and white wire that are tied together and tucked in behind the receptacle. Is it possible that those wires control the chandelier? How should I connect them to be able to operate the ceiling light with the wall light switch?

Above the dining room is another floor :( I hung the chandelier but now I have to unscrew the bulb whenever I need to "turn off the light."

hkstroud · Jul 11, 2008, 07:17 PM

One remote possibility and it is remote and I don't personally have this kind of luck. If the chandelier is powered from the box that the switched outlet is in then you can rewire it to control the chandelier. Otherwise you will have to get a cable from the chandelier to the switch. You said you were starting to renovate. Making a few holes in the ceiling and the wall to do that shouldn't upset you too much.

The black wire in the outlet box brings the power to the box. The white wire connected to it takes the power to the switch. The black of the switch cable brings the power back (when the switch is on) and is connected to the outlet. What other wires in the outlet box. Check wires in switch box, should have only one black and one white, both connected to switch.

e-niunia · Jul 11, 2008, 07:25 PM

This is what I have:
- one black and one white wire in the switch.
- one black and one white wire attached to the receptacle in the outlet
- one black and one white wire connected together and tucked behind the receptacle.

What should I do to try to connect those tucked wires to the light switch? Should I add them to the receptacle? Black to the gold screw, white to the silver screw? I'm not sure how to attach the cables in the receptacle.

hkstroud · Jul 11, 2008, 07:40 PM

Those "tucked" wires are connected to the switch. They just go to the outlet, you need them to go to the chandelier.

You can run a cable from the chandelier to the switch or you can run a cable from the chandelier to the outlet box, which ever is easier, probably to the switch.

letmetellu · Jul 11, 2008, 07:44 PM

One of the romex cables in the receptacle box are the power to the receptacle. Lets say that the black wire of that pair is connected to the plug The black wire will then be connected to one of the other two wires, this wire then goes to the switch and connects to one side, the other wire then connects to the other side of the switch carries the power back and is connected to the other side of the plug. The switch is nothing more than touching two broken ends of the wires together.

There is no way that you can hard wire the light to that switch without adding another switch and another Set of wires.

I am sure there is a way to use a remote instead of unscrewing a bulb to turn off and on the light.

hkstroud · Jul 11, 2008, 07:50 PM

Letmetellu has a good point. You can purchase remote control switches. You put the receiver device in the canopy of the chandelier and mount the wireless switch on the wall anywhere you want. No wiring.

e-niunia · Jul 11, 2008, 07:53 PM

Thank you for all the answers, I will try to see what I can do with all your info. I appreciate your time. Thanks