How to Wire a Receptacle to a Light Fixture

• 1). Turn off the power to the circuit at the home's service panel (breaker box) by switching the breaker to "Off" or removing the fuse. Test the light fixture to confirm that the correct circuit is off.
  
  
• 2). Remove the switch coverplate. Without touching any wires or terminals, carefully unscrew and remove the switch from its electrical box. Use the circuit tester to confirm the power is off.
  
  
• 3). Disconnect the wires from the switch terminals. Remove the light fixture and disconnect its wiring.
  
  
• 4). Replace the existing two-wire cable between the switch and light fixture with appropriately rated three-wire cable. (Note: A two-wire cable contains three wires---a black insulated wire, a white insulated wire, and a bare grounding wire. A three-wire cable contains four wires---black, white, and red insulated wires, plus a bare grounding wire.)
  
  
• 5). Install new two-wire cable between the fixture and the receptacle box. Strip the tips of all insulated wires, using a wire stripper.
  
  
• 6). Connect a pigtail (short length of black insulated wire taken from extra three-wire cable) to one of the switch's screw terminals. Use a wire connector (wire nut) to join the black hot wires from the power-source cable and three-wire cable to the pigtail. Connect the white neutral wire from the power-source cable to the white neutral wire on the three-wire cable.
  
  
• 7). Connect the red "hot" wire of the three-wire cable to the other switch terminal and to the hot lead on the light fixture. Join the black hot wires from the three-wire cable and new two-wire cable using a wire connector. Join the white neutral wires of the three-wire and new two-wire cables to the neutral fixture lead.
  
  
• 8). Connect the black hot wire from the new two-wire cable to the brass terminal on the receptacle, and connect the white neutral wire to the silver terminal. Connect the ground wires at each device location, following the device's wiring diagram.