Electrical – Switch with 2 black wires and 1 white

electricalswitch

I looked at a few answers before I wrote this, but none seemed to apply appropriately. The two I saw related to switched wiring for a plug and a light, but I am replacing a switch.

I took off an indoor switch connected to two outdoor lights. The switch had 2 backstabbed black wires and one white wire attached to a screw on the side. After further investigation, there were 4 cables coming into the box, each with a white, black, and ground. All the white wires were gathered under a nut. Two black wires were in a nut with the white wire attached to my switch. And the two remaining black wires were the backstabbed black wires.

My black wires do not fit in the push in the back part of my new switch, plus it seems those are unreliable. How do I get this connected back with my new switch?

Best Answer

This may not be the ideal solution but I did get it connected an working. I did not realize that I could put more than one of the wires on a single screw on the switch. Once I figured this out, I simply connected the formerly backstabbed wires to their corresponding screws and doubling up on the screw that already had a wire on it.

Thanks for the help, and if you have suggestions on making it better, let me know.