We are (attempting) to replace our kitchen light fixtures with LED recessed lights. Let's just say it's been a huge learning curve... which I'm going to summarize here so you know the things we've tried and learned, before asking my questions.
Old Set-Up South fixture on one circuit with one switch. North fixture on separate circuit (and separate connection to breaker box) with one switch.
First Plan We kept the two separate circuits, but added a 3-way dimmer switch to each. We wired two LED lights on one, and three on the other. The circuit with three was noticably dim and we eventually discovered that we had wired them in a series, rather than parallel.
New Plan We decided since we had to try wiring again we'd change our design. What we want now is to have all five lights on the same circuit with a dimmer switch on one side of the kitchen and a toggle switch on the other side.
My search for a diagram to follow led me to these:
https://youtu.be/JOtCH2Nfb9w (do all five need to have the first light as the hub?! Seems tedious, and all those wires won't fit into the little junction box built in to the new LED light)
https://www.easy-do-it-yourself-home-improvements.com/3-way-switch-wiring-diagram.html (ours would be option #4 with more lights in the middle)
Question about wiring multiple lights in parallel as well a multiple lights in a parallel 3 way (this was my most recent find and now I'm thinking my attempt at setting it up like option #4 is totally wrong based on the discussion...)
I am attaching a sketch of how I have currently wired the lights. They do not come on at all. Please help me understand what is wrong, why, and what I need to do instead. Thank you!!
Details
- 12/2 and 12/3 cable
- toggle switch on left, dimmer switch on right
- Utilitech canless LED recessed lights with integrated junction boxes, #1500765