I'm trying to wire recessed lights, and every time I splice these together, it trips the breaker. I'm wiring blacks together and neutrals together. What am I doing wrong? The only way I can get the lights on is to just wire the feed directly to the recessed cable. Whenever I try to add a cable from a switch it trips the breaker. Thanks for any help.
Wiring problem
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Are they 3 way switches? If they are they need 3 conductors from each switch.
Your picture shows that when you are turning on the switch you are shorting out the main power which will trip the breaker. This can also destroy the switch. My connections and are correct. If this does not work replace the switch.
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You are wiring a dead short. The switch leg doesn't follow the "black to black / white to white" configuration.
Wire the lights so they work without the switch, as you have done.
Now turn off the breaker. Wire the two wires from the switch into the hot wire, leaving the existing whites together. What you want to do is break the hot wire and wire the two ends you broke to the wire going to the switch. One will be black to black and the other will be black to white. And you are supposed to have a neutral in the switch box as well.
Did you use 3 wire cable to the switch?
And don't wire it until you are absolutely sure how to do it.
Wire the lights so they work without the switch, as you have done.
Now turn off the breaker. Wire the two wires from the switch into the hot wire, leaving the existing whites together. What you want to do is break the hot wire and wire the two ends you broke to the wire going to the switch. One will be black to black and the other will be black to white. And you are supposed to have a neutral in the switch box as well.
Did you use 3 wire cable to the switch?
And don't wire it until you are absolutely sure how to do it.
The original light switch was a single pole, with just a black and white connected to it. When I connected all the blacks together and whites together in the attic it tripped the breaker. So I tried replacing the switch with a dimmer, and the same thing happened. Everything was working fine- with a single light in the kitchen. When I unhooked everything and ran can lights to replace the single light, now it trips the breaker whenever I wire it back together. So I don't know how it was wired before. I'm just confused, as I thought I could just replace the wires from the single light with the wires from the recessed lights, and everything would be fine. It'd be difficult to run a new wire to the single switch, as it would run to a single metal box, probably installed 30 years ago, which would mean tearing out drywall.
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Well you could have. But you changed the wiring when you installed the lights....right?
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Look at your drawing.
Tie the whites together from the can lights and the feed.
Take the black from the feed and connect it to your switch.( black to black)
Take the black from the can lights and connect it to your switch (black to white)
Are you wiring two switches to the same lights?
What is that "single switch opposite wall"? Are you removing that one?
Tie the whites together from the can lights and the feed.
Take the black from the feed and connect it to your switch.( black to black)
Take the black from the can lights and connect it to your switch (black to white)
Are you wiring two switches to the same lights?
What is that "single switch opposite wall"? Are you removing that one?
White from power should only go to white on lights. Switch is meant to control hot feed and hot load. Because your switch wires are white and black we are using the white wire as a switched power lead (hot) back to lights.
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One switch or two? Your drawing shows two. If one switch, wire nut the white feed wire to the white wire to the can lights. Wire nut the black from the feed to the black from the switch. Wire nut the white from the switch to the black to the can lights and wrap the white jacket on both ends of that wire with black electrical tape to indicate that it is a hot conductor. Do not wrap the other white wire. The end.
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Jbake......did we lose you?
Yes, MB, like a fool I just unhooked all the wires in the junction box, thinking I could just figure it out. But I obviously don't have the experience or knowledge to do that if the extent of my electrical intuition is black to black and white to white. Now I'm trying to figure out how to repost my picture with numbered wires, so that someone can tell me what numbers to connect to what. I appreciate your help and patience through these trying times *not sarcastic
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Before you do that...are you keeping the switch on the opposite wall?
If so, you will just wire both switches the same way.
If so, you will just wire both switches the same way.
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