Adding an additional wall light to your three-way circuit can be confusing without properly identifying cable sets.
Adding an additional wall light to an existing three-way lighting circuit can be confusing. Taking the time to identify correctly each cable set on the circuit eases the difficulty, making the addition of the light something you can do with little or no prior electrical experience. Three-way switches allow you to turn the lighting off and on in a room from two separate locations. You can turn the light off at one switch while turning it on at the other.
Instructions
1. Turn off the lighting circuit by turning the breaker inside the main service panel to the "Off" position.
2. Cut a hole in the wall where you want to install an additional light by tracing the template provided with the remodel junction box. Carefully cut along the trace line using a keyhole saw and remove the drywall.
3. Disconnect the original light fixture from the wall by removing the light shade and exposing the screws holding it to the junction box. Remove the screws to expose the wiring and disconnect the light fixture from the wiring by untwisting the wire connectors. Identify the two sets of cables inside the electrical box. The first set consist of a black, red, white and bare copper wire and the second set consist of a black wire, a red wire, a white wire wrapped in black electrical tape and a bare copper wire.
4. Pull the second set of cables from the original light junction box and reroute this set of cables to the new wall light location.
5. Pull two sets of 12/2 nonmetallic (NM) electrical cable from the original light junction box to the new wall light location.
6. Pull the two new sets of 12/2 NM cable and the second set of cables you rerouted to the new location into the back of the remodel junction box through the knockouts located at the back of the box. Turn the screws clockwise on the remodel box to flip the wings attached to the screws up behind the drywall. Tighten the screws to securely clamp the junction box to the wall.
7. Strip the two new sets of 12/2 NM cable at both the original wall light location and the new wall light location. Use a dual NM wire cutter/stripper to remove the exterior sheath off both sets of cables exposing the interior black, white and bare copper wires. Strip 3/4-inch of insulation off each wire. Identify these two sets of cables as the third and fourth sets of cables.
8. Wrap black electrical tape around the white wire of the third set of cables in both the new and original light locations. The third cable set will consist of a black wire, a white wire wrapped in black electrical tape and a bare copper wire. The fourth cable set consists of a black, white and bare copper wire.
9. Connect the wiring in the original wall light junction box by twisting a red wire connector onto the bare copper wire from the first set of cables to the two bare copper wires from cable sets three and four, connecting all three bare copper wires together. Connect the black wire from the first set of cables to the black wire from the third set of cables by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires.
10. Twist an additional orange wire connector onto the red wire from the first set of cables to the white wire wrapped in black electrical tape from the fourth set of cables, connecting them together. Connect the white wire from the first set of cables to the white wire from the fourth set of cables and the white wire from the original light fixture by twisting a red wire connector onto all three white wires.
11. Connect the black wire from the fourth set of cables to the black wire from the original light fixture by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires. Reattach the original wall light fixture to the junction box.
12. Wire the new light junction box by connecting the bare copper wire from the second set of cables to the bare copper wires from the third and fourth cable sets by twisting a red wire connector onto all three bare copper wires. Twist an orange wire connector onto the white wire wrapped in black electrical tape from cable set three and to the red wire from cable set two, connecting them together.
13. Connect the black wire from cable set three to the white wire wrapped in black electrical tape from cable set two by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires. Connect the white wire from cable set four to the white wire from the new wall light fixture using an orange wire connector.
14. Twist a red wire connector onto the black wire from cable set four to the black wire from cable set two and the black wire from the new light fixture, connecting all three black wires together. Attach the new light fixture to the wall.
15. Turn on the lighting circuit by turning the breaker inside the main service panel to the "On" position.
Tags: wire from, bare copper, white wire, black wire, wire connector, connector onto