electricalswitch
Have some carriage lights outside my garage that can be turned on from inside the house. It's common that the switch will get flipped and the lights will stay on when they're not wanted.
Is there some way I can add an indicator to the light switch so I can know if the light is on?
Note: the carriage lights are on a 3 way switch.
Since the red wire is already being used for the outlets, you'll need to run a pair of 3 wire cables from the existing switch box to the location in the garage where you want these light switches.
This is what you'll likely have to do:
Here are some other options:
You can run the light from the switch. This is a one hour job for an electrician. It doesn't get much faster than that.
Best Answer
You need one or two 3-way switches with pilot lights. These are also called 3-way switches, illuminated ON. Some have an illuminated toggle, some are decorative style and some have a separate light. These are examples (not that none of the ones shown below are actually 3 way switches)
These switches generally need a neutral wire at both switches. Conventional unlighted switches do not need a neutral. They also need three wires (other than neutral) running between the switches.
If you only want the pilot light in one location, you still need two 3-way switches, but only the lit one needs a neutral.