Power to light then switch, outlet between?

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scott23

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This looks like a great forum and I am hoping someone can help.

I have power coming into a light fixture which then goes to the switch. The wall in between currently has some of the sheetrock off for some other work and I have access to the wiring in between and to the switch but not all the way up to the fixture itself. How can I add an outlet between the fixture and switch? The wire is 12-2(maybe 14-2). Is this possible without 3 wire?
 
You will have to see how the circuit is wired. If the switch is "key" which means the original electrician only sent a switch leg down to the switch from the light you cannot use it. If you have a neutral than you can.

The easiest way to check is to see how many wires come from the switch box. If there is only one, I highly doubt you have a neutral which means you need to get your power somewhere else. If there are multiple wires coming from your switch box then you might have a neutral and could tie into that box.
 
Only if the wire to the switch is 14/3 or 12/3 and welcome to the site.

What if its a dead end 3-way? If its a 12/3 or 14/3, it's most likely for a 3-way tapped in the fixture and will not have a neutral.
 
There is a white, black and ground wire from the light to the switch. Here is an image.(yellow is the white) I want to add the outlet between them. I currently only have access to the wiring from the proposed outlet to the switch. If I had to I could run another wire from the switch to the outlet.

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What if its a dead end 3-way? If its a 12/3 or 14/3, it's most likely for a 3-way tapped in the fixture and will not have a neutral.
He or I said nothing about a 3-way. Many people will confuse the white of a switch leg for neutral. so the easier answer is "no"
 
As pointed out the white and black carry power to and from the switch and you don't have neutral so you would need another wire to the light box.
 
Thanks everyone for the very quick replies, this forum rocks. I was afraid of that answer though.

So with adding no wiring, could I at least add an outlet knowing it will be off when the light is off?
 
No you can not. You do not have a neutral wire.
 
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