[acpg97]

I recently added a flood light to the outside. I used 14/2 wire. I want to wire it to an existing light where the power source is and then to a stacked switch where I can turn off and on both lights. How do I do this?

[MOWERMAN2468]

If you want both lights to come on and off at the same times, just go to the top side of the light switch and connect the black wire from the new light to a "pigtail" with the existing black wire, then hook the pigtail to the switch, then cut the white wire and hook your new white wire with the others with a wire nut, then hook the ground to the switch by the use of another pigtail. This will provide the energy to both lights at once. I would recommend the use of 12/2w/ground instead of 14/2 though.

[labman]

An important consideration on wire size is the breaker feeding it. If it is a 20 amp breaker, you must use #12. For a fairly short run off a 15 amp breaker, I see no reason to run #12.

[acpg97]

I really appreaciate your answers to my question. The run is a short run. The problem is twofold. I want to cut each light on separately and I don't have a ground wire at the switch. Both black and white wires are hot because I am running power from an existing light to the switch. I'm just stuck and don't know where to go from there. Can you help me?

[biggsie]

This reminded me of the spot lights that have sensors on them and

Turn on automatically -- I installed one of these with the sensor in the

Middle of the house and placed lights on the corners -- really gave better

Lighting with lights spread apart... Luv having lights on automatically...

If you switch lights separately, the hot wires are switched and neutral

Wires are wire nutted together...

How To Wire a Switch - Switch and Light at End of Circuit

To wire in your second light the neutral ties to other neutral wires

And power is taken from the bottom of the switch to bottom of second

Switch , which feeds power to second light Almost a carbon copy of first

[labman]

I don't quite understand what you are wanting to do. There are 2 ways to wire a light and a switch. The simple case is run power to the switch and on to the light connecting each black wire to one of the screws on the switch. If you then run cable from the light to a switch for another light, the second light would only work when the first was on.

Where the light is closer to the power source than the switch, it saves wire to run power to the light, and then a pair of wires to the switch and back. Code now requires the white single in a NM-B (Romex) pair to be marked black when used in such a switch loop. To sort out how your existing light is wired, check both the switch and light junction box. The box that has the second pair of wires is where the feed is. Extending power elsewhere works best from the original feed wire. Wherever the feed is, you can either run it on to the next 2 lights and run switch loops to their switches, or run the feed to where the switches are, and run power from the switches to the lights. Either way is common, workable, and meets code. I have seen some answers here recently suggesting the switch loops are the only way it can be done. Not so, not everybody posting here is reliable. You can trust tkrussell.