can a single pole switch be replaced with a sensor to turn light on when enter a room,, the power is at the light so the white is used to feed back(it has black tape on it) thanks for any replies jim

Maybe someone will chime in but until then you would just wire the sensor as a switch. It detects motion and turns on the light. Similar to a timer switch. I know that most motion sensors on outside lights operate the same way.

There are several "occupancy" type switches available at home stores. Like this:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_365253...0activated|Occupancy

Just replace your switch with one of these.

Deleat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: joecaption,

Just caught that the power is at the light. You may have to run a feed to the switch location.

Jaybee not real sure what he has there. Sounds as if they used a neutral wire (marked as hot). But he does have a single pole switch.

Sounds like it's just wired with the power going to the fixture - the switch leg interrupts the hot as it goes down to the switch and back. This is pretty typical and will cause the white side of the switch leg to be coded black.

The motion switch likely requires both a hot and neutral to work (plus ground) so a neutral and ground would need to be run from the fixture down to the switch location.

thanks for the replies ,,yes the white is being used to feed the light, there is only a ground wire along with the black and white,, that is why the white is taped black at both ends. thanks again jim

Is there another neutral (white wire) to the fixture or are they using the ground(copper) as the neutral?

quote:

Originally posted by redoverfarm:
Is there another neutral (white wire) to the fixture or are they using the ground(copper) as the neutral?

Red,
As mentioned above it sounds like this is just a switch leg and the power is coming into the box at the fixture. With a switch leg you only have one piece of 14/2 coming to the switch box. There isn't a neutral.

sorry, redoverfarm, but The Voices tell me that it's just as evil to use ground as neutral as it is to use white as white and ground when hacking 2-prong outlets over to grounded outlets.

if the sensor switch requires a reference to operate beyond the hot lead, then he's best off running a 1x/3 WG Romex back to that box. use black and red as the switched-hot leads, connect white to the neutral at the light/feed splice, and grounds as ground all the way.

j do not want anyone to argue here,, the power is at the fixture witha black, white and ground going to switch(single pole) however the white wire is taped black at both ends,, at the lite fixture the black is tied to power and goes to switch and then rh taped white goes from switch to the lights black wire the white wire in fixture is tied to a white wire,, the ground wire is all tied to grounds.. therefore it sounds like i cannot put a sensor in unless i put in a new wire with a red, black, white and a ground from switch to fixture to get what i need to make sensor operate.. i am not going to open the wall to do this,, so i will just forget the sensor idea,, thanks for the replies guys jim

good to hear the white was recoded, so you could determine what you have. many a time, speed trumps sense, and the quick wraps of tape needed to indicate "this really ain't a white wire" aren't done.

OK I understand what he has now. I knew that the light would not operate w/o the neutral and was hoping that he wasn't using the copper ground as his neutral. Since that is not the case it makes it a lot safer. Never know what some people do just to get by.