I installed the cord first and plugged it in and the light comes on. Then I unplugged it, installed the switch and plugged it back in and light won’t come on regardless of switch position.

This is the how-to I followed,

Install

My guess is the switch (the side you didn't show in your picture) isn't biting hard enough into the wire to make contact. While I can see the holes in the insulation, perhaps they don't go deep enough.

I'd like to see the other half of the switch.

Here’s a pic showing both halves.

I agree with Ron. Also, it may be defective.

To help ensure good contact, I use a blunt object, about the same diameter as the wire, to press the wire firmly onto the little spikes.

That type of switch is always marginal in my opinion because it depends on those little spikes piercing the insulation and making contact with the wires, and the current flow through that type of connection is less than ideal. There are better inline switches available with real wire terminals inside that take a little more work but result in reliable wire connections.

As I was expecting guests who would be using that room, I went and bought a plug adapter that has a remote control. I rewired, eliminating the inline switch and all is well. i may attempt to add another inline switch at some point, but for now this is fine.

That sounds like a great solution. :-)

I'd try something like this.

Annette,

In your installation did you cut one or both of the cord wires when installing your original switch? (EDITED out "Plug.")

When installing the plug? Or the switch?

Sorry,

n your installation did you cut one or both of the cord wires when installing your original switch?

I just cut one wire.

Poifect. Is it obvious in your pic above whether it was the upper or lower wire you cut?

He apparently cut the right one. You can see the cut and the bite mark from the switch contacts are in that one.

I can not see that. A switch like this is pretty close to the simplest mechanical device there is...

I cut the HOT wire, which is the smooth one from what I read and saw on instructional sites.

It sounds from your description as if the sconces are designed to be hard wired, not cord and plug connected. My suggestion is to have an electrician install them the way they were meant to be used. Then you can have a wall switch or two controlling them. Much nicer.

So collectively we are suggesting that we can not figure out how to put a simple in-line switch on a two wire lamp cord? Or probably better said, we can not find out what the homeowner did wrong given that the switch is not defective? LOL

OP, you said: "I have a second cord and switch so was going to try again"

Let us know how this works.

PS I still do not see the wiring in your photo being cut... But that would seemingly leave the lights powered on all the time.

As this is a log cabin, having them hardwired in is cost prohibitive at this point. I’m also not sure I will keep the layout like I have it so I will most likely be moving the lights down the road.

The wire is absolutely cut, but probably hard to see against the brown switch. The first instructional site I found said to actually cut out about 1/8-1/4 inch of the wire out so they can’t accidentally make contact within the switch. So there is a little gap between the wires.

I haven’t tried the second light yet as the second lamp is defective and I will be exchanging for a new one.

First lamp is nice and straight.

Second lamp, no matter what I try, won’t go together in a straight line so it’s going back.

Does it have a polarized plug? If so you should have cut the wire that goes to the smaller blade since that is the hot one.

However, the lamp would still work either way. You'd just be switching the hot lead instead of the neutral one, which leaves the fixture itself energized, generally not recommended.

It must be that the pins did not make good contact, or there is something else amiss in the fixture, or the outlet is actually not working.

toxcrusadr said, "However, the lamp would still work either way. You'd just be switching
the hot lead instead of the neutral one, which leaves the fixture itself
energized, generally not recommended."

That would be true if the homeowner (OP) connected the two wires correctly to the two connections on the lamp.

And of course, that assumes the wall plug is correctly wired. Do you think the OP has the acumen to allow us to conclude anything?

What amazes me that two wires can light a bulb. And now we insert an in-line switch and it no longer allows the light to come on

Can not one of the so-called contractor simply state what the course of action is to get an in-line switch to allow a light to come back on?

I'm not adequate to the task, but I'm surprised that they are not either.

That would be true if the homeowner (OP) connected the two wires to the two connections on the lamp.

I’m not sure what that means exactly, was I the one who connected the wires or did I do it correctly? The lamp did not come with the cord and plug on it, it came with a kit designed to be hardwired, which I decided to convert to a plug in lamp instead. So I bought a cord with a plug and a separate inline switch. I first attached the cord and plug and plugged it in and it worked. So I guess I did it correctly (no one was more excited than I was that it worked lol). When I added the inline switch it no longer worked. I have a feeling that one of the suggestions above about the 2 prongs not biting into the wire completely may be the culprit. It took me many tries to get the two pieces back together snugly and the first few tries left just an indentation in that wire casing.

I did cut the wire to the smaller blade(the smooth wire, not the ribbed one). So like I said I needed a working lamp there so I took that wiring off and used the other set I had. But this time I skipped the inline switch and just plugged it into a the outlet with a remote control plug option.

I will run to the hardware store this weekend and pick up a new inline switch to see if that’s the issue. There used to be a great store near me for lamp parts, but now I’m stuck with cheap stuff from big box stores it seems like,

Don't know why you replied to me... however to clarify, I have added the word "correctly" to my post which should make it clearer to readers as to whether the lamp and cord are connected with the correct polarity.

toxcrusadr said, "However, the lamp would still work either way. You'd just be switching
the hot lead instead of the neutral one, which leaves the fixture itself
energized, generally not recommended."

That would be true if the homeowner (OP) connected the two wires correctly to the two connections on the lamp.

Do I have any confidence that you have done everything correctly? NO!

I replied to you because you kindly posted and I’m trying to keep up with the thread and it looked like you were trying to clarify something.

The fact that the lamp worked fine after my initial install and then wouldn’t when I cut the hot wire and added the inline switch makes me think it’s the switch. If I hadn’t connected the two wires on the lamp correctly it wouldn’t have worked at all according to the directions. It wasn’t hard to figure out the neutral from the hot wire as it was highlighted in the lamp directions, the cord directions and the switch directions.

The switches were under $2 each and feel like it. I have a friend that’s heading into Atlanta to the big lamp restoration store that also sells quality replacement parts so she’s going to grab some of the better switches (they are more like $5 each).

Not correct. toxcrusadr made the VERY point about if you had reversed the connections at the light that the light would still work but an electrical shock hazard would exist.

Ok, I stand corrected. I meant that it wouldn’t have come on without an obvious problem. As I didn’t receive a shock or a spark I’m calling that a “working” lamp.

It would have come on without an obvious problem! The fact that you did not receive a shock does not mean that you had not reversed the two wires and that a serious shock hazard existed or continues to exist.

It seems that we both appear to be trying to get the last word in. For that, I apologize to my fellow posters that have tried to help you to no avail.

I didn’t think anyone was trying to get the last word in. I was actually waiting until I got the better quality switch delivered before continuing on. It was questioned whether I had reversed the hot and neutral wires so I clarified that I had wired with the ribbed side as the neutral and the smooth wire as the hot. As no one disputed this I went forward with my thinking that this was correct. Ron Natalie, kudzu9, and toxcrusadr all posted that they thought the switch, or at least the prongs were faulty so I went with that and found a source for what looks like a sturdier switch and are awaiting them.

I’m not sure how I was helped “to no avail”, I asked a couple of questions about my install and received a number of replies that came to a similar consensus. I’m following through with the suggestions made. I will post the results at that point as I appreciate when an OP finishes up on solving a problem. I always try to be gracious here and reply when asked a question or to clarify a statement as I appreciate when someone takes the time to respond. So thank you for your time, it is appreciated, I’m sorry if you thought it wasn’t.

Some people on the web are just abrasive. It's not you.

Annette- I don't think you need to be sorry about anything. Please don't be discouraged from posting in the future.

The cord in which you are inserting the plug are properly wired ?

New switches arrived. They are significantly sturdier. Tried it out in place of the Home Depot one.

Woo hoo!!!!