ark_mod t1_jeajmqn wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:43 PM

Reply to comment by Pinstrip3 in Can my motion detector porch light also be turned on and off by a switch? by Domepiece9

It looks like OP got the real answer in other responses. To explain in more detail for others...

What pinstripe suggests isn't easy at all for 99% of people and is the wrong way to do it. Yes you could disassemble your motion sensor, rewire the sensor, modify the external housing and run extra wires to the switch. But why? Depending on your skill level it could look professional or it could look like someone hacked you the electrical box... Not to mention the labor involved and the fact that this custom solution will be very confusing to anyone that does work in the future.

The correct way to do this is purchase a motion sensor with a built in always on feature. As others mentioned you just need to flick the power off/on to get it to stay on. Leave it off for longer you reset it. The switch then has standard wiring instead of a custom solution. If in the future you (or the next owner) wants to replacev the light they can without dealing with a custom switch and wiring related to modifying the sensor box.

My point - the are "off the shelve" solutions to this issue. No need to custom modify the light and sensor to achieve this.

Pinstrip3 t1_jebd27q wrote on March 30, 2023 at 7:50 PM

What you suggesting is sounds to be the right solution.

On a side note I didn't mean to rewire the sensor itself but to simply connect it after the wall switch. That way it can be overriden by the switch, but only to turn it off, not to make it stay on.

Sometimes English is a struggle ;)