All:
I hope someone may enlighten me. I have a switch with two lines running into it. I believe the first to be power running from the breaker. There are yellow (or white yellowed with age), black, and bare copper wires in this first line. The second line has a yellow (or white yellowed with age), black, red and ground. I believe that the second line travels to what is now a half hot switched outlet.
Within the outlet there are two lines entering. The line from the switch entering into the outlet has yellow (or white yellowed with age), black, red and ground. The red wire is connected to the switched outlet half, the black is connected to the other half of the outlet which is always on.
At the switch, the yellow wires (or white yellowed with age) are pigtailed. The black wires are also pigtailed, but connected to the switch, as well.
At the outlet, the red are pigtailed. The yellow wires (or white yellowed with age) are also pigtailed, but connected to the outlet as well.
It is my intention to install 4 recessed LED lights in the ceiling. I was going to daisy chain all of the lights together and run that wire into the switch box. I was going to install a dimmer light at the switch to control the lights, and I want the half hot outlet to be hot in both outlets at all times. I no longer wish to control the outlet from the switch, but I want to continue providing it with power.
Please advise how and whether I am able to do this. Any information would be helpful. Thank you.
Best Answer
Simply cap off the red wire at the receptacle and the switch, using a twist-on wire connector. Then replace the receptacle with a new one, that doesn't have the tab broken between the ungrounded (hot) terminals. On the new receptacle, connect only the black, white, and ground wires.
Now the receptacle will always be hot, and the switch will be unused. This will allow you to use the switch for your new lights instead. Just connect the black wire going to your lights to the switch, and the white to the other white wires in the box.