How to Replace a Light Switch
If you have a light switch that makes a popping or crackling sound when you flip it, if you’d like to upgrade your switch’s style or functionality, or if your switch is broken, here are seven easy steps to replacing a light switch yourself.
Tools You’ll Need: Screwdriver, Wire Cutters, Wire Strippers, Wire Tester, Utility Knife, Flashlight or other portable light source
1- Cut Circuit Power to the Switch
Before starting an electrical project of any size, it’s imperative to cut the power to that circuit to avoid electrocution. Go to your electrical panel or fuse box to find which circuit to turn off. Always check and double check for safety!
Pro Tip: Many panels are labeled, but some are not. Go through your circuits with the lights on so you can see when power to your switch goes off. If you’re not in the same area as the one to which you’re trying to break power, have someone stand in that area and call to you when the light goes off. Now might be a great time to add labels that might be missing or misleading.
2- Remove the Old Switch
Start by removing the old cover plate, using your screwdriver. If the plate will still fit your new switch and if it isn’t cracked or broken, set it aside to use again. Otherwise, you won’t need this plate again. Next, unscrew the switch from the wall and pull the switch out of the wall box. At this point, if you have a wire tester, you’ll want to test the wires to be certain there is no power flowing to the switch.
Pro Tip: Occasionally, the faceplate or the switch can be painted over, making them difficult to remove. You may need to use the utility knife to score the edges of the plate or switch to break it free and avoid pulling paint from the wall.
3- Disconnect Wires from the Old Switch
Take a look at your switch and see where the existing wires are connected. Either take a picture of the wires with your phone or label each of the wires so you know where to reconnect the new switch. Using your wire cutters, snip the wires connected to your old switch. Once your wires are cut, you’ll use wire strippers to give you a clean edge.
Pro Tip: If your wires are pretty short, you can lengthen them by creating what’s called a pigtail. For instructions, click here: How to Make a Pigtail
4- Connect the New Switch
Make sure you pay attention to which wires you are connecting to which terminal. Pull out your camera and double check or be aware of the wire labels you made.
Pro Tip: Wrap the wire clockwise around the screw so that it forms a snug fit as you tighten the screw. You want this to fit very tight. Loose fittings can cause electricity arcs that could be a potential fire hazard.
5- Replace the Switch
Once your wires are connected and the screws are firmly tightened down, bend the wires back like an accordion and replace the wires in the box. Line up the switch with the holes in the wall and screw the new outlet into place.
Pro Tip: At this point, it’s important to check that the switch is oriented correctly and not upside-down. Make sure the “on” and “off” labels are legible when you put the switch in; namely, when you flip the switch up, the light comes on and when you flip the switch down, the light goes off.
6- Install the Faceplate
Place the faceplate back on, over the switch. Screw the cover plate into place, making sure not to over tighten the screw, as this can cause the plate to crack or break.
7- Turn the Power Back On and Test
Flip the breaker switch or replace the fuse in your control panel to restore power. Flip your new switch to make sure the light comes on.
Pro Tip: If, at any point you feel uncertain, have questions, or are worried you may have gotten in over your head, call an electrician you trust for help. If you don’t have an electrician, call Any Hour Services and we’d be happy to send out one of our certified technicians to help with any of your electrical needs.
We hope you’ve found this information helpful! Have a question? Need instructions for a DIY project? Leave a suggestion in the comment section below.
How To Replace A Light Switch
Do you need to know how to replace a light switch? What a coincidence! We were just about to make a video to show you how. Come on. Like how I switched my clothes? I’m so funny. :) Like in our other instructional videos we’ve added navigation at the top so you can easily jump around in the video to the information you need. You’ve got the overview, tools needed to complete the project and of course, the project itself. Now, switches can be a little trickier than an outlet because you may have noticed around your house how a light is controlled by a single switch and other lights seemed to be controlled by more than one. We are going to show you the first, we have a light controlled by a single switch and that switch needs to be replaced.
As you can see, there’s lots of different colors and styles to choose from when you replace a switch. You can really change the look of a room by changing your duplex receptacles and toggle switches to decora style switches and outlets. Today we’re keeping it basic. We’re going to be replacing this toggle switch with the same kind. Now the reason we are changing this switch is because I heard some crackling and popping the other day, when I turned it on the other day. You want to listen for these kinds of noises coming from switches, outlets or lights, they shouldn’t be making those noises. Those noises mean that the connections inside aren’t as tight as they once were. This happens with normal ware and tare, it’s nothing to freak out about. You just replace them sooner than later...if you hear a consistent sizzle and smell smoke, then you can start doing some freaking out. While we’re on the subject, make sure those smoke detectors are working properly. Go ahead and link that video up here. Alright, here’s the tools you’ll need to replace a light switch:
Tools Needed:
- Screwdriver
- Wire cutters
- Wire strippers
- Tester
- Utility knife
- Light source (because once you flip the lights off, it’ll be in the dark)
Step 1 - Cut the power to the circuit you’re working on
Safety first! You don’t want to try and replace a switch while the power is still on. So, go to your main electrical box and, if it’s labeled, find the breaker that controls the circuit you are working on and flip it off. If it’s not labeled and your light is still on, flip the breakers off until your light goes off.
Step 2 - Remove the old switch from the wall
Remove the screws from the cover plate. Now, this is a good time to point out that sometimes you can have a more than one switch together. This one has 1. This one has 2. This one has 3. Anyway, I have seen cover plates that are painted over, so you may need a utility knife to score around the cover in order to get it off. Unscrew the top and bottom screw that connects the switch to the box in the wall. Again, if the switch has been painted over, you may want to score the paint with a razor knife so that it doesn’t peel off the wall. When you pull the switch away from the wall, if you have the wand style tester, go ahead and make sure that the power is turned off. Make sure you turn your tester on though.
Step 3 - Remove the wires from the old switch
Next, you want to clip the wires off the back of the switch. Just like in the outlet video, if the wires are too short, you may want to add a pigtail to make them easier to work with. To see how you to make a pigtail, click here. If you pull the outlet from the wall and it has more than 2 wires connected to it (not counting the ground) you want to stop and note what wire is connected to what. Take a picture with your phone or label things with some tape. You may be trying to replace a 3 way or 4-way switch. Once everything is labeled, you can take the switch off, take it to your hardware store and they can help you get the right one. Then when you bring it back, follow the same steps we’re showing you to reconnect everything. Just make sure you reconnect everything where it goes or the switch may not work correctly. If you ever feel like you’ve gotten in over your head, STOP and call an electrician you trust for some help.
Step 4 - Connect the new switch
Now, when you are reconnecting the wires to the switch, on the back of a single pole switch it won’t matter which terminal you hook the wires up to. But if you’re changing out a 3 or 4-way switch, it does matter which one you hook it up to. As an apprentice electrician, I was taught to hook the wire over the terminals on the screws, but manufacturers have added holes in the back, so you can use those if you want. Now, once you’ve stripped the wire, you want to make a hook. On my wire strippers, I have a hole that I use or you can use pliers if you wish. Once your hooks are made, put them over the screws so that the hooks are bent clockwise. This way when you tighten the screw, it naturally pulls the hook towards the middle rather than pushing it away. You want to tighten these screws down snug, not to the point where you strip the screws, but tight. Electricity causes tiny vibrations and if you don’t tighten them down properly, it can become loose. When that happens, you can get arching against the screws and that can become a fire hazard.
Step 5 - Put the switch back in the wall
Once your wires are connected and the screws are tightened down, you’re ready to put the switch back in the wall. Just make sure the “OFF” and “ON” are legible when you put them in, so that it’s up and down. So when you turn the switch up, it come on and when you flip it down, it goes off. Bend the wires back in the box, kind of like an accordion and then screw the 2 screws in the top and bottom.
Step 6 - Install the cover plate
Screw the screws back in the cover plate, but be careful how much you tighten them down, you can crack the cover plate if you aren’t careful.
Step 7 - Turn the power back on and test
Now you’re ready to turn the power back on and test it. Well, there you go. Even though replacing a light switch is a little trickier than replacing an outlet with a little information and instruction, it is something you can do yourself. Just be safe and if you ever feel like you have gotten in over your head, STOP and call an electrician you trust for some help.
Now, If you’ve found this information helpful and informative, go ahead and like our video by pressing the thumbs up button down there. If there are any other electrical, plumbing, heating or air conditioning projects you’d want to know how to do, leave your suggestions in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe so you get notifications whenever a new video comes out. Click it... it’s just right there. I see it! Have a great day and thanks for watching.
Sep 5th 2017
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