Yard light wiring

[brycez28]

I am working on the new subpanel in my detached garage. Currently, there is a yard light on the house with a switch inside the house and two yard lights on the garage with a switch in the garage. The switches inside the garage and the house will turn all three lights on and off at the same time.

From the junction box in the garage where the wiring comes in, there is one wire that goes to the garage switch, then two wires from the switch to the two garage yard lights. I believe somehow the yard light wires are connected to the main garage power as well, it is just a big cluster. Their are 5 wires coming into the junction box from outside. One is main power for garage, would the other three all be for the yard light wiring? Would the yellow one also be for the lights, or is that a ground?

Ultimately, I want to control just the two garage yard lights from the garage switch and just the house yard light from the house switch.

I think I can disconnect the three wires coming into the garage (not the main power) and I'll need to run new power to the switch inside the house switch for the house yard light. Is that correct?

After my wife's tomato plants are done for the season, I am goin to run new 60amp wiring to the garage and I can pull out all the old underground wiring at that time.

 

[Zeke]

Wow. No telling on that. I'd go ahead and pull everything out first. Start over.

But, to answer your question, you have a 3-way switches. You can have power at either end as long as you have 2 travelers and a neutral (plus a ground) between the switches. So, if the house switch has no power other than the travelers, yes you will have to bring a hot to that box.

There is a possibility that there is power to the house light fixture. In that case you could use the existing as a switch leg. New code has a neutral to switches in case a timer or other powered device is used.

 

[brycez28]

This is the wiring of the house switch and garage switch.

Garage switch wires from left to right: House yard light, #1 garage yard light, #2 garage yard light, garage light (on 2nd switch), garage outlet, and main power to garage.

 

[brycez28]

I cut disconnected the wires in the junction box that went to the yard lights. This is starting to make more sense of why their are so many wires coming into the garage, they are all single strand. I am left with one black wire and the yellow wire for main garage power.

There obviously isn't a ground coming in from anywhere. I put in a 5/8"x8' grounding rod for the subpanel. Can I replace the wire coming out of the junction box with new wiring and temporarily connect the ground to the 6ga ground wire I will be bringing in for the subpanel? Or should I just leave it disconnected?

 

[Mustang51js]

What a mess that is,your def better off starting over and doing it right