Tying together 2 areas

**ladder13** · 07-05-2011, 02:51 PM

Hello. I want my basement lights to operate off 1 switch. Currently, there's a switch at the top of the stairs and at the bottom that turns on the stairwell light. I then need to walk 15 feet to activate a switch to turn on the basement lights. How do I put all 3 switches together to be able to light the staiwell and also light the basement from either of the 3?
Thanks,Mike

**jadnashua** · 07-05-2011, 03:52 PM

Depends on how it is currently wired. Open up the switch for the basement lamps and see if there is more than one cable coming in, then come back. If it's only one, you'd need to splice those together to simulate the switch always on, then break it somewhere else (to remove the existing power) to get the power from the stairwell lamp to power those lamps. More detail once the current switch info is known.

hj · 07-05-2011, 06:14 PM

From the information you have supplied, we cannot tell you. It depends on HOW the separate circuits are wired and if there is any "common" location where they all come together. But, if you do NOT know how to do it, getting instructions over the Internet is NOT a good way to learn.

**ladder13** · 07-05-2011, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by jadnashua

Depends on how it is currently wired. Open up the switch for the basement lamps and see if there is more than one cable coming in, then come back. If it's only one, you'd need to splice those together to simulate the switch always on, then break it somewhere else (to remove the existing power) to get the power from the stairwell lamp to power those lamps. More detail once the current switch info is known.

So in other words you don't want 2 feeds?

**ladder13** · 07-05-2011, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by hj

From the information you have supplied, we cannot tell you. It depends on HOW the separate circuits are wired and if there is any "common" location where they all come together. But, if you do NOT know how to do it, getting instructions over the Internet is NOT a good way to learn.

The only "common" location would be the breaker box.

**jadnashua** · 07-06-2011, 09:49 AM

It's not good or bad to have two cables, it just determines where you can make the connection. A second cable in the box with the switch generally means power is fed from there. If there's only one, then that is called a switch leg, and it is essentially one wire, connected together when the switch is on. 3-way switches will have at least an extra wire in them, called a traveler, so you can turn the lamps on and off from each location, otherwise, a switch would only open or close (a 3-way switch has two actual switches in it controlled by the lever).

Unless you can map out the connections and have some understanding, you can quickly get yourself into trouble. It may be best to call a pro. At the least, you need to study where each cable goes and map out how it is being used.