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Can a GFCI power a light and a switch in this order?

Home Improvement Asked by CFA on April 28, 2021

I made some repairs in a bathroom which included pulling an old outlet, switch, and the light. I’m coming back now to replace them with updated versions (gfci, switch, light) and scratching my head on how the wiring was working before. I should have taken a picture, but I didn’t 🙁

The bathroom is on its own breaker. The source comes in to the GFCI, and then a cable feeds to the light, and finally from the light to the wall switch.

Sketch

How can I wire this so the outlet remains on and the switch controls the light? I’m seeing a lot of examples of the light coming "after" the switch but that isn’t how it was setup in this room. Everything is 14/2.

2 Answers

What was done was called a switch leg the black hot from the GFCI was tied to the white wire in the cable going to the switch. Both ends the wire taped or marked to show hot. Then that re identified wire on one side of the switch and the black on the other back at the light the black wire from the switch is the switched hot Or connects to the black of the light. Next the white wire from the GFCI is the neutral that goes to the white of the light. Once these connections are made it should work.

Note this is now an old method of wiring and we are supposed to take the neutral down to the switch location (or feed the switch first is the easiest without needing expensive wire or conduit (smurf tube commonly used).

Correct answer by Ed Beal on April 28, 2021

You can wire a switch loop from the fixture to the switch. You can source the power to the light fixture either via the LOAD terminal on the GFCI to protect the light circuit or just pigtail off the power feeding the Line terminal.

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Answered by Jon on April 28, 2021

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