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-   -   4 lights on one switch - switch not at begin/end (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=683983)

  • Jul 17, 2012, 04:14 PM
    WannabeGuru
    4 lights on one switch - switch not at begin/end
    I'm replacing a kitchen light with 4 pot lights.

    The existing light was Power->Light->Switch

    To save ripping my entire ceiling down, I want to wire as follows:

    Power->L1->L2->Switch->L3->L4

    Is this possible and/or permissible? I have it wired like this now but when I turn the switch to on, the lights are nowhere as bright as they should be. When I started removing lights from the circuit (L3 & L4 initially, then L2, L3 & L4) the light output got brighter (what seemed to be twice as bright then full brightness respectively).

    Hopefully I will be able to accomplish my lighting task without too much damage to my existing ceiling.

    Thanks.
  • Jul 17, 2012, 04:58 PM
    hkstroud
    You can only do that if you have a 3-wire cable between L1 and L2.
  • Jul 18, 2012, 05:46 AM
    WannabeGuru
    Thanks Harold.

    How would the wiring connections be done with the 3 wire?
  • Jul 18, 2012, 08:48 AM
    hkstroud
    1 Attachment(s)
    ..
  • Jul 18, 2012, 09:27 AM
    WannabeGuru
    Thanks very much Harold.

    One further question; what if the wires for light 3 & 4 branch from light 1 instead of L2? It's a bit of a convoluted mess but it was my only option other than tearing out a bunch of ceiling?
  • Jul 18, 2012, 11:54 AM
    hkstroud
    2 Attachment(s)
    ..
  • Aug 3, 2012, 03:03 AM
    WannabeGuru
    Thanks for all the help Harold. This worked perfectly and now my lights are as bright as intended.
  • Aug 3, 2012, 06:04 AM
    tkrussell
    Harold's sketches and drawings are, to say the least, outstanding.

    Just a comment to the installer, when a white wire is used to feed power to a switch, called a switch loop, the white wire needs to be re-identified as a hot, usually black marker, or at least black tape.

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