Help adding a switch to a garage lighting layout

[Banjorear]

Good Morning:

I'm retro fitting/installing some T-8 lighting into my two bay garage. What I mean by retro fit is I'll be tapping into the single fixtures in both bays for my power source for the lights.

There is a switch in bay #1 that turns on the lights in both sides of the garage.

I finished bay #1 yesterday and I'm going to work on bay #2. I would like to be able to add a switch so I can turn off the lights to bay number two.

I'm using 14-2 armored cable for the wires and picked up some 14-3 in case that's what I need to run the switch.

I know enough to get me into trouble, so is adding a switch to this scenario possible and what do I need to do?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[pattenp]

So you want to be able to turn on and off each light independently. All I can say is it can be done, but without knowing how the existing wire is run it's hard to say if it's going to be easy or hard to do.

 

[Banjorear]

So you want to be able to turn on and off each light independently. All I can say is it can be done, but without knowing how the existing wire is run it's hard to say if it's going to be easy or hard to do.

Hi

Thanks. What additional information would be helpful? I'm certainly this is not a dedicated circuit. Meaning, there are other things that run off of this circuit, but they aren't effected by the switch.

Not sure if that helps.

 

[Architorture]

Do you ultimately want a switch for bay 1 and a switch for bay 2?

If so that shouldn't be too difficult assuming you are running everything in the open...which based on the armored cable it sounds like you are.

The biggest question is where the power feed enters the system...is it at a light or at the switch? If you pull the switch out do you just see the 2 hot wires connected to the switch or is there a neutral tucked in the box as well? If this is the case the power is fed through the switch and it should be pretty easy to add new bay 2 switch at this location.

 

[dogdog]

Why make them all 3 way switches on bay #1 and #2 so that you can control the lights on bay#1 and Bay #2 from bay #1 and Bay #2?

 

[abk241]

Pull the cover plate off the existing switch and pull out the switch.
Take some pics of the wiring in the box and the connections at the switch and post them here.
That should let us know where the power is coming from and whether you need to run 2 or 3 conductor to the 2nd bay.