Hello All
Im lucky enough to post my first question to you all. I have an old desk lamp that originally had two 18" fluorescent bulbs in it. I replaced those with LEDs that fit in the same fluorescent bi-pin configuration. Originally I wired the lamp in parallel to use both bulbs at once with a simple SPST switch. The bulbs have two pins on either end, and each side is of the same polarity.

What I'd like to do is wire the lamp that I can use either one or two bulbs at once. I will need a new switch no doubt, but how can I go about wiring this as such with an ON-OFF-ON type switch?

This is how I wired the lamps to operate both at once...



Thank you for the help!

 

A local hardware store will have one, It's not a fan switch or a florescent lamp switch, but one made for just this application.

 

would you happen to know what that switch is called? I was looking for a toggle switch that would fit in the same 1/2" cutout on the lamp base.

 

Turn off power..
Verify power is off..

remove live jumper between the 2..
and disconnect the live where it goes into the first bulb..

Live wire then goes to the common contact of switch..
Have one wire going out to one bulb when in one of the on positions
and one wire going out to each bulb when in the other on position.

 

Turn off power..
Verify power is off..

remove live jumper between the 2..
and disconnect the live where it goes into the first bulb..

Live wire then goes to the common contact of switch..
Have one wire going out to one bulb when in one of the on positions
and one wire going out to each bulb when in the other on position.

Then have all grounds going to the neutral wire from the wall?

 

Then have all grounds going to the neutral wire from the wall?

Don't need to do anything with the neutrals.. They are fine as shown..
A switch just needs to disconnect one side of a circuit..

Any "grounds" should be tied to "ground".. Ground is not neutral. Its the 3rd green wire (or bare copper wire) or metallic conduit,etc..

 

Don't need to do anything with the neutrals.. They are fine as shown..
A switch just needs to disconnect one side of a circuit..

Any "grounds" should be tied to "ground".. Ground is not neutral. Its the 3rd green wire (or bare copper wire) or metallic conduit,etc..

Sorry I misspoke there's no ground. Just a hot and neutral. It's for a desk lamp.

 

It's a 3-way switch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3-way_lamp

It won't work EXACTLY how you want it to, but rather: OFF, bulb 1, Bulb2 and bulb1+bulb 2

It will likely fit the cutout. They normally twist.

This http://www.gardnerbender.com/en/gsw-68 (Gardener Bender GSW-68) will work. I happen to have one. It's marked as a SPTT Rotary Switch.

Of course, the package doesn't have the hole size.

 

Don't need to do anything with the neutrals.. They are fine as shown..
A switch just needs to disconnect one side of a circuit..

Any "grounds" should be tied to "ground".. Ground is not neutral. Its the 3rd green wire (or bare copper wire) or metallic conduit,etc..

For some reason I can't get this working. I left the neutrals as shown.

Disconnected the jumper on the hot side. Connected one hot on one bulb to one end of a STDP switch. Then connected the one hot from each bulb to the other end of the switch. On either flick of the switch both bulbs still end up lighting.

 

If you really want a toggle switch, you can do it with a DPDT center off switch or DPDT ON-OFF-ON which would operate as bulb#1 - OFF - Bulb 1&2

 

Wire the DPDT switch like this:

 

For some reason I can't get this working. I left the neutrals as shown.

Disconnected the jumper on the hot side. Connected one hot on one bulb to one end of a STDP switch. Then connected the one hot from each bulb to the other end of the switch. On either flick of the switch both bulbs still end up lighting.

Sorry.. I though you had a DPDT switch like alec shows in the schematic