[rafftjr]

I have an outlet that is controlled by a switch. I want to make the outlet hot all the time but I still want the power to the switch because I'm adding recessed lighting.

Coming into the left of the box are two wires and on the right is one wire going out to the switch. From the left, the two neutral wires go into the outlet and the two hot wires are capped with the neutral wire going out on the right. The hot from the right then goes into the outlet. Picture attached.

How do I make the outlet continually hot while still providing power to the outlet for the new lights?

 

[rafftjr]

 

[rafftjr]

https://ibb.co/j9CKwH8

 

[rjniles]

With power off, open the switch and disconnect the white wire and capp with a wire nut. At the receptacle pig tail the 3 whites together and connect pigtail to receptacle. Do the same with the 3 blacks. Turn power on and test.


For your info, the white that was connected to the 2 blacks was not a neutral, it was the power feed to the switch.


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[hkstroud]

With power off, open the switch and disconnect the white wire and capp with a wire nut. At the receptacle pig tail the 3 whites together and connect pigtail to receptacle. Do the same with the 3 blacks. Turn power on and test.

Sorry but that will leave you without power to the switch.


Connect all three white wires in outlet box together with a wire nut and add a pigtail.
Connect all three black wires in outlet box together with a wire nut and add pigtail. Connect pigtails to outlet.


At switch box, run new cable from switch box to lighting fixtures. Connect white in cable from outlet box to white in cable going to lighting fixture. Connect black in cable going to lighting fixture to switch.

 

[rjniles]

You told him exactly what I did. You added how to connect the light to the switch, which he did not ask.

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[hkstroud]

You are correct. Reading comprehension seems to decrease with age. Sorry.
Not only that, it's tax time and bank account is decreasing..

 

[seharper]

OK, so notice the white-black switcheroo, where the lone white is with blacks? *That's supposed to be marked with tape, but whatever*. The lone white, and its partner black, are in the right side cable. That is a switch loop which you can go ogle. The cable runs up to the switch and come right back. That's the only place that cable goes. The two wires are always-hot (white) and switched-hot (black).

The other two cables on the left are a) supply and b) onward power to other receptacles or whatever. Black is always-hot, white is neutral. You'll want to attach those to the receptacle, now. (the whites are already there).

I gather you plan to bring the cable for the recessed lighting down to the switch. OK, so you'll need a cable to carry always-hot and neutral up to the switch. Oh, look at that! There's a cable that's about to become surplus, and goes exactly where we want!

For now, cap those wires off. When you're ready to convert them to being always-hot and neutral, add them to the other blacks and whites (white must be neutral).


How do you add 3 wires to a recep with 2 screws? Don't use the backstab. Either 1) Pigtail. Or 2) use a nicer $3 "screw-and-clamp" receptacle which accepts 2 wires per screw (via slots sort of under the screws), and you tighten the screw to clamp the wires. Tighten hard!