How to Wire Multiple Lights on a Single Pole Switch That Has Power
- 1). Turn off the circuit breaker that supplies power to the lighting circuit. Place the no-contact voltage tester probe near a wire in the switch box. If the light stays off, the power is off.
- 2). Install sheathed cable between the switch wiring box and the first light fixture. Strip 6 inches of sheathing from both ends and insert the cable into the boxes. Strip 3/4 inches of insulation from the wires at each end of the cable and from the wires leading into the switch box from the circuit breaker.
- 3). Twist the two bare ground wires together in the switch wiring box leaving a 3-inch tail on one of them. Turn the tail into a U-bend. Loosen the green ground terminal screw on the switch with a screwdriver and place the U-bend on the terminal so it wraps around the screw clockwise. Tighten the screw firmly.
- 4). Twist the two white wires together in the switch box. Screw a wire nut onto the connection. Bend the ends of both black wires into a U-bend. Loosen the two terminals on the switch. Place the U-bends on the terminals so they wrap around the screws clockwise. Tighten the terminal screws firmly.
- 5). Install sheathed cable between the first light fixture and the second. Strip 6 inches of sheathing from each end of the cable and 3/4 inches of insulation from each wire. Twist the two ground wires together in the first light's wiring box. Hold the fixture ground wire together with the twisted ground wires and screw on a wiring nut.
- 6). Twist the two white wires together. Hold the fixture white wire together with the two twisted white wires and screw on a wiring nut. Repeat this for the two black wires and the fixture black wire.
- 7). Install sheathed cable between the second light fixture and the third, if there is one. Repeat the wiring steps for ground, white and black wires at each light fixture. At the last light fixture in the chain, make the last connection between fixture ground, white and black wires to the sheathed cable wires to complete the circuit.
