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I've removed a hall closet and am installing a built in bookcase. I would like to add pot lights to the top so the shelf is lit. in the exposed wall, I have thick yellow wires coming from the ceiling into a light switch, and then from there to a wall socket. Can I hook into that line somewhere to power a switch and new lights in the builtin?
hi this is john and will try and help you
Thanks
i am assuming that the yellow wires you are refering to is 12-2 romex.........do you know where those wires are going to
they just go up into the ceiling of what used to be the inside of the close wall. I have removed the dry wall and exposed the wiring and switch and outlet housing.
can you access the outlet
yes
you can run 12-2 from the outlet to the switch thwn another piece of 12-2 to the first pot light and then from that pot light to the next and so on
in the switch you will tie the two white wires together with a wire nut.......wrap the grounds together and cut one tail off and attach to the single pole switch, then attach the two black wires to the single pole switch
in the lights you will attach wires by color to each other
ok, but a yellow wire goes into the outlet box, then back out and back up into the ceiling. Can a splice into that line
in the outlet you will tie the ground together with the existing ground, attach the white wire on the silver screw and the black wire on the brass screw........making sure that the breaker is off
if there are two wires of each in the outlet.......twist the two whites with the new white and add a fourth white that will be attached to the screw....this is called a pigtail.......do the same with the black
use the screws on the sides of the outlets and not the holes in the back.....this is a better connection and will eliminate any problems down the road
do you understand the pigtail part
yes, on another site there is a video on how to make a pigtail
good it may have been made by one of the experts here
just make sure you are using the same size wire in all of this and also complete the work with the breaker off
Ok, let me make sure I got it....I turn off the breaker, open up the outlet box, wire in 12/2 wire to pigtails I make with the black and whhite wires I find in there, then run that 12/2 wire to a new switch I install in the new buitlin, then run that more 12/2 wire from the new switch box to the first pot light, and so on.
correct it sounds like you got it
where is this outlet located that you will be coming out of
I wish there was a drawing, it would be much easier to picture. In my mind I see a long piece of 12/2 from the current outlet to a new switch at hand height, and then a longer one from the new switch to the first pot light, etc.
correct.........from outlet to switch and from switch to light and light to light
The outlet is low down on the wall I open up and is the the room adjacent to the closet I removed
can you read any writing on the outside insulation
of the wire
give me a minute while I check
Its hard to read, but it might say romex awg 12 cv 1 cdr with awg 11 ground type mm-b 600 volts
its 12-2, a few years ago they started color coding the outside insulatio and i wanted to be sure
its yellow
yeah 14-2 white, 12-2 yellow, 102 and 3 orange, etc
10-2 and 3 orange
ok, I think I have this, is there anything else I need to know
if you have any further questions regarding this project, you can come back to this post and i will be more than happy to help
Thank you, wish me luck
piece of cake
Experience: over 40 years of all phases related to residential wiring and remodeling