Issues Converting Light Switch to Outlet

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NewRehabber

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I'm installing an alarm system and want to convert a light switch to a power outlet so I can have an easy spot to plug in the panel. The perfect spot in the house also happens to be by a light switch that seems to have been altered to provide constant power to some nearby (previously switched) outlets. There's only two outlets that I can find that seem to be connected to this circuit. When I cut the breaker to the light switch, the two outlets also turn off. It seems kind of an odd wiring, but I admit I'm new to this.

In the attached picture I've numbered each wire involved.

  • 2 & 3 feed into a wire nut, that then feeds into another wire (#6) that was connected to a light switch. These wires are all hot.
  • 1 (red) is also hot. It was connected to the other terminal of the light switch.
  • Both the on and off positions of the switch did not affect any nearby outlets, and with my multimeter I found a current was still traveling to both terminal of the switch. This tells me that two hot wires were being fed into the switch.



What sort of setup is this? Or is it just a rigged setup to allow the 2 outlets to always stay on?


  • Here's what I think I should do if I want to put in a outlet:
  • Put a wire nut on #1 and stuff it back in the box.
  • Cut off #6 and it's wire nut
  • Connect #2 to the top hot wire terminal of the new outlet and #4 to the top travler/white terminal of the new outlet
  • Connect #3 to the bottom hot wire terminal of the new outlet and #5 to the bottom travler/white terminal of the new outlet
  • Connect ground one of the two ground wires to the outlet.

Any issues with doing this?

ProblemLightSwitch.jpg
 
Welcome to the forum. Lets see what the boys have to say.
 
What you have are outlet that are split. If you open up the outlets you may find the red goes to the top screw on each one and the black goes to the bottom screw.
There is a little joiner between the two screws that has been cut and removed.
So by turning off the switch you would find half of at least one outlet dead, unless they have been changed and the joiner was not cut.

So check that out and make sure that is what it is, if it is you can just cap off all ends of the red wire change the outlets and carry on with your new outlet.
 
I just checked and the red wire doesn't go to any of the outlets. There is an adjoining hallway with 3-way switches to the hall lights, and those have red wires - but those are on a different circuit.
 
disconnect all three the two blacks and the red and see what stops working then hook one at a time and see what each does.
 
You said it was a light switch. The red wire goes to the light. If it doesn't actually go to a light all you need to do is disconnect the black that comes from the same cable as the red and see what goes off. Then you will know where the red goes.
 
There's no light anywhere. This is an older house that we just bought - so its possible the previous owner removed the light - or they put in the switch to control outlets. Though, there's no evidence of either those theories. Its very confusing.
 
The wire I mentioned above that is "no longer hot" goes to another set of outlets that I forgot about. So to summarize, I have a set of wires on the left that have 2 hot wires (red and black) and one traveler. The set on the right have no hot wires.

I don't know why there are 2 hot wires in one set (its a 20-amp breaker). It seems to me the best option would be to go with the original plan, which is:
  • Put a wire nut on the red and stuff it back in the box.
  • Connect the black wire from the set on the left to the top hot wire terminal of the new outlet and its corresponding white wire to the top traveler/white terminal of the new outlet
  • Connect the black wire from the set on the right to the bottom hot wire terminal of the new outlet and its corresponding white wire to the bottom traveler/white terminal of the new outlet
  • Connect ground from the first set on the left to the new outlet

Will this work? Is this the best plan?
 
The reason that it "appears" that there are 2 hots is that the recp. are fed from the same breaker, so instead of installing a blank cover, because you have to be able to illuminate a room upon entry, they left the switch connected as a device.

Your plan will work as described, however, how do you plan to comply with the requirement to illuminate the space, upon entry?
 
Thanks everyone for your help - this plan worked!

Snoonyb - the light switch wasn't really being used for a light anymore - we had other options.
 
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