How do you wire a receptacle, light switch and a light together?

Question

we want it to come from the receptacle to go to the light switch then to the light.

Answer 1

brndnh is correct. Unless you pull out the receptacle and find all 4 screws being used. If that is the case, come back and he will tell you how to pig tail wires. Make sure your connections are tight.

Answer 2

Calling an electician is a good idea, electricity is not something you want done wrong.
Buy a 15 dollar book from home depot, big pictures and all.

It is an easy task though as long as you are handy. Black from the outlet to the switch. Black from the light to the switch. White from the outlet to the switch box. White from the light to the switch box and wire nut it to the other white in the box you just ran from the outlet. Make sure all copper ground wires are connected to each other in all three boxes. Done.
The advanage of getting the book is it will show you how to strip wire the right way, how to connect with wire nuts, how to connect to switches and plugs and what types of boxes and fixtures to use. Loose connections, nicked wires are just a couple of the dangerous mistakes do-it-yourselfers make.
Always turn the power off at the breaker and test all wires before starting.

Answer 3

You obviously don't have a clue about electrical wiring. It's not something to toy with. Call an electrician and get it done by a pro. Where you live in the country affects the method and materials that meet the national and local codes. Asking here will only get you wrong info, like the one already posted. Bad wiring leads to unsafe homes. Is it worth the risk of fire or electrocution just to save a few bucks?

Snoonyb,
My reply was directed at the OP and not at the party who replied first.

The issue here is one of compentency. The fact that the OP is even asking this question is an indicator that she is well beyond her comfort zone for such repairs. It's one thing to give advice about hanging up a small picture but entirely something else when you start giving advice to a rank novice about wiring alterations in a home. People live there and all too often, rank amateurs perform wiring changes that are dangerous.

There is a reason why electricians are licenced, that electrical permits are taken out, that electrical inspections take place. Improper wiring causes fires and it also electrocutes people. All too often, it isn't the moron who did the improper wiring that suffers.

So don't tell me I don't know how to wire circuits. I am a licenced electrician and over the past forty years, I have seen just about every kind of dumb mistake that homeowners make, trying to save themselves a few bucks. But of course, if your advice or anyone elses advice gets followed by the OP and it harms one or more people, none of you will know about it due to the total anonominity of this forum. Thanks to that, you will be able to sleep at night.

Answer 4

"James P
You obviously don't have a clue about electrical wiring"

And neither do you.

William B is basically correct, just a little short on detail, as is the OP.

It is not clear if the light outlet is existing or will be new.
If it were existing there would probably be a hot pair in the light outlet box.

So to treat this as a stand alone switch leg, at the switch box connect the black from the receptical box to one of the switch screws and the black from the switch leg to the other screw and wire nut the two whites together.

Connect the hot pair to the switch to the hot pair
in the receptical box.

Answer 5

To the outlet you should have a black wire,white wire and bare ground , on plug the black goes to the brass colored screw and the white to siver screw and grounds splice together with a tail to green screw on plug, then to switch you will have a 2 wire , and a 2 wire out to light , so in switch box you will splice white wires through and one black wire to switch and the other black wire to other side of switch and again splice grounds and tail off to switch ground and then in light color to color

Answer 6

you just solved it, but turn the power off to that switch first, run 2 wires [normaly a black and a white, ] usualy a # 12 wire,
from the light, to the switch, then from the switch to the outlet,
awalys run the wireing backwards, makeing the power hook up last,