Switched electrical wiring question

[-DY-]

Excuse my piss-poor drawing (blue lines = white wire). I'm replacing 2 incandescent light sockets with (4) 8' T5HO fixtures and one 4' work bench light in the garage. The lighting inside the garage is a bit odd and an external light and switch feeds off it.

I know normally I'd just connect the black and red from the fixtures to the black electrical feed.

Based on my assumption about light #2 (can't move the car that's under that light right now) I am thinking the following:

1) For the two T5HO fixtures replacing light #1, I should connect the red and black from both fixtures to the red of light #1 and the whites to the white of light #1.

2) For the two T5HO fixtures replacing light #2, I should connect the red and black from both fixtures to what (I assume is) black and red connected in light #2. I should connect the whites together.

3) I could run the work bench off light #2 or feed it off of one of the T5HO fixtures.

4) I am replacing light #1 and light #2 with electrical boxes with covers on them, totally removing the incandescent light sockets.

Thoughts / Suggestions??

 

[Mustang51js]

Trying to figure out what you have but I think what you have in the old light is a black feed through and the red switch leg for the lights. So you need to connect white and red to the lights, or you can just see what wires are hooked up to the lights now and hook up new lights to those.

 

[-DY-]

Just to clarify - light #1 doesn't connect at all to the black wires. Just red and white. The red feeds onto light #2.

Light #3 can be turned on regardless of what position the switch that controls lights #1 and #2 is in.

While it's important to confirm how it should be wired up, my primary concern is if I need 14-2 NM or 14-3 NM wire to properly complete the project. Initially I thought 14-3 NM because lights 2 and 3 used it, but now that I look at how it's wired up, I think 14-2 is all I really need because I'm combining the black and red wires from the point of the existing light fixtures (what I'm guessing is correct).

 

[Mustang51js]

If your just adding another light off the other light boxes then yes you just need a 14/2 jumped over,what your confusing me with is when your saying connecting the black and the red,which i think your talking about in the fixture and not in the j-box on the ceiling. I guess the t5ho have a black and red in them for power.
How many switches are going to be controlling the lights,two single switches or 2 3-way switches doing all the lights. You should only have three wires going to a light which is hot nuetral and ground. So if your running off the old boxes and adding new lights you would use a 14/2 for all of them.

 

[Mustang51js]

If you pull down the old lights you should see two wires connected to them,those are what you would run the 14/2 from over to new lights,you prob have the blacks in there and tucked in the back which you wouldn't touch because that's either a feed through for something else or part of the three way switch for the garage which from your drawing it looks like you have.

 

[-DY-]

If your just adding another light off the other light boxes then yes you just need a 14/2 jumped over,what your confusing me with is when your saying connecting the black and the red,which i think your talking about in the fixture and not in the j-box on the ceiling. I guess the t5ho have a black and red in them for power.

Yes, the new fixtures all have a 3 wire hook up (red/black/white).

How many switches are going to be controlling the lights,two single switches or 2 3-way switches doing all the lights. You should only have three wires going to a light which is hot nuetral and ground. So if your running off the old boxes and adding new lights you would use a 14/2 for all of them.

I wanted to keep the same switch setup, just replace the 2 incandescent lights with the 5 fixtures.

If you pull down the old lights you should see two wires connected to them,those are what you would run the 14/2 from over to new lights,you prob have the blacks in there and tucked in the back which you wouldn't touch because that's either a feed through for something else or part of the three way switch for the garage which from your drawing it looks like you have.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know. Light #1 only has white/red going to it. I figured if I just hook up to the 2 wires going to the existing lights it should work out.