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Hi MarlinM51, The advice you've already received to get an electrician involved is the rational thing to do. That's the last thing I'd ever do, but I long ago stopped holding myself up as a model of good judgement. Here's what I'd do if I were dealing with the situation you've described. (I wouldn't advise anybody else to do this, nor am I advising you to.) First I'd check the supply coming into the light to make sure that the white is, in fact, the neutral and the black the power. If there isn't a ground in the junction box, or if it isn't connected, I'd use an extension cord so that I'd have a known ground at the test location for my meter. Now I'll continue as if I've determined that black is the power. If there's another light upstream from the one you're describing, and it's wired the same way (white wires connected and passing through, black wires to both sides of the light, then your lights are connected in series and are sharing the voltage. With more than two lights you'd almost certainly have noticed this; with only two, you probably would, but maybe not. It isn't possible to run two or more lights in parallel with the wire arangement you've described when the lights are between the source and the switch (in relation to the circuit, not by location.) This would require three conductors, not including ground---12/3, 14/3, etc. The correct wiring for the situation you've described, assuming a single light fixture, involves a switch loop. In the fixture junction box, one wire from the light is connected to the incoming white neutral wire. The other wire from the light is connected to black wire coming back from the switch. The incoming black (power) wire is connected to the outgoing white wire. Both ends of this white wire, in the fixture box and in the switch box, are recoded black using black paint, fingernail polish, magic marker, or any permanent black marking to indicate that they are being used to carry the current. All the best, Stan
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