I have two light switches in my bathroom. I'd like to swap the lights that they operate with each other.
I have no experience with this kind of thing, but I'm hoping the proximity of the two switches makes it simpler.
Electrical – How to trade the lights that these two light switches control with each other
electricalswitch
Related Solutions
First of all: You will absolutely have to pull new wires for this, and it will involve opening the drywall in several places.
You'll also have to patch the drywall after, and almost certainly repaint each wall you put a hole into. You may be able to get away with painting just a section of the ceiling without it being noticeable, but very rarely can you get away with it on a wall.
Current wiring
What you have now is one of these two wiring variants:
Necessary Changes
You essentially need two separate 3-way circuits (take a look here for different wiring variants: http://www.buildmyowncabin.com/electrical/wire-3-way-switches.html).
- In variant #1, you'd have to pull a new 14/2 between each light and switch, and change the wiring at each light.
- In variant #2, You'd need a new 14/2 between the two switches, and another 14/2 between the switch and first light or to replace the current 14/2 with a 14/3.
Making diagrams for these is not simple, so if you describe or draw your current wiring diagram (or at least post pictures of the wires inside each box) then maybe I can provide some more concrete instructions.
You can't. You don't have enough conductors between the switches. It takes 2 "hot" traveler wires plus a neutral and a ground to do a single 3-way "traveler" circuit; that's 4 wires total. The neutral and ground can be shared between multiple devices, so to do what you want you need 2 more traveler wires for the other device (fan).
Related Topic
- Wiring – Two switches, two lights, one light always on.
- Electrical – How to swap side by side light switches
- Electrical – How to control two lights together at one switch location and independently at two other locations
- Electrical – converting two lights from two switches to two lights from one switch
- Switch – Wiring confusion with 3-way switches that control 2 lights
Best Answer
Your honest statement, "I have no experience with this kind of thing," is both refreshing and cautionary. Electricity can be dangerous. Most of us who dabble in it have learned a good bit by watching those who are much more experienced. When in doubt, call a pro (or at least a well-seasoned amateur). What follows is not a recommendation for you to proceed. Think about getting more experienced help.
The switches can be switched. How difficult it is depends on how they are presently wired.
The switch on the left, Switch A, has a full circuit in the box, that is, a hot, neutral and ground, which powers the outlet. Switch A above it is probably on the same line and works by interrupting the hot current to the light it controls, Light One. The neutral and ground that feed the outlet are probably tied in to the controlled light. The question is, where does the switch on the right, Switch B, and the light it controls, Light Two, get their power?
If Light Two gets its power (hot and neutral) directly from the box that contains Switch A, and the line to Switch B is just a two wire hot line that Switch B either connects or disconnects to Light Two (back through the box containing Switch A), then the lines in Switch A's box that control both lights can be swapped to reverse the switches.
If Light Two draws its power directly from the box on the right (rather than through the Switch A box), you cannot reverse the controls without running a new line. The most likely solution is to open a channel in the wall between the two boxes and run a new line to Switch B. Then Switches A and B can be reassigned. The channel can then be patched with drywall tape and compound.
The way to tell whether you have the easy or the hard setup is look in the box containing Switch B. If there is just one line with a black and white wire (and a bare ground), but no other wire, you have the easy setup. If there are two or more lines in Switch B box, you have the harder setup.
Exactly how to swap the wires is a bit complex, and if you do not already know how to do this, you really should have help.