I recently had a new circuit run from the electrical breaker box to the switch box in the wall. From the switch box I want to have 4 switches that control 3 different sets of lights and a ceiling fan.

Switch 1 - eye light, connected and working.

Switch 2 - connected to 6 recessed lights. Connected in parallel; black to black, white to white, ground to ground.

Switch 3 - separate set of 4 recessd lights, not installed yet

Switch 4 - Ceiling Fan

Switch 2 is not working yet. I had an electrician run the circuit from the breaker box to the switch box. I made the runs from the switch box to the lights and the electrician connected the switches.

I tried connecting only the first light, black to black, white to white, ground to ground and even that did not work. I replaced the bulb with a known good one and that was not the problem.

This is a 20 amp circuit using 12-2 wire. The switch is in front of all the lights.


Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Possible defective switch. Possible bad connection at pig tail electrician made to switch.

Turn power off, connect the two black wires at switch 2 together. If light works replace switch. If light does not work move black going to recessed light to switch 3 or 4. If light works on 3 or 4, look for bad connection where electrician connected switch 2 with pig tails. If light does not work look for problem in your work.

Could be you or the electrician confused about which switch does what. Did you try turning on switches 3 and 4.

Thanks for the quick reply! I tried the following:

1) Connected two blacks at switch 2 together, light did not work.

2) Moved recessed light black to switch 3, light did not work.

3) Tried moving recessed light black to switch 1, which I know has power. Light still did not work.

I don't think the electrician was confused about the function of the switches. It was fairly stright forward, each switch controlling a bank of lights or ceiling fan. All switches in front of fixtures.

By the way - switch 3 and 4 are not hooked up yet. I wanted to make sure 2 was working before moving on.

Also switches are brand new as are the recessed lights.

Thanks in advanced for any advice.

Time to get a multi-meter and start checking for voltage.

Step 1) Check that with the switch in the closed (Off) position that there is a voltage level present on the feeder to the switch.

Step 2) Check for voltage at the source of the feeder the switch.

Step 3) If still no voltage, check for voltage at the breaker that is servicing your circuit.

Try another fixture at recessed light.

Your feeder for the switch that works... does it feed the other three switches? Are they pigtailed together? How is it wired, do you know? What exactly did the electrician run? Did he do everything BUT the switches? Each light needs a neutral wire which is never broken, from the source to the lights. Then from each switch you need power. It's pretty straightforward. Can you draw what your wiring is? Can you send a picture of what you have in this 4 switch switch box?

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I swapped out the light at lunch but it didn't help.

I stopped on the way home from work and got a new voltmeter. I checked and there was no voltage across the switch.

To make a very long story short, I screwed around with pigtails for the feeder and the neutral and played around with switches and finally stumbled across what I think was the problem. I believe the two blacks from from switches 2 & 3 were hooked up to the wrong switches.

At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. All the lights are working now!

I REALLY appreciate all the input and suggerstions. You guys are all great. THANK YOU.

Nickn... glad you got it fixed. A little bit of troubleshooting goes a long way.