neutral wires yes but not on the switch i need to upgrate to smart

[notShai]

I want to make the outside ligth fixture tun on and off based on schedule / wifi switch enabled.

There are 4 switches. lets call them from left to right, 1,2,3,4.
1 is the one i need to convert to a wifi switch, its for two outdoors lights each with 4 bulbs (one of them is pictured here). also - 1 doesnt have a neutral wire on it! (side note, the 4 lights in each fixure NEVER all work, they keep switching which ones want to be lit, i dont know why, sometimes they all work, sometimes different one lit. they dont flicker, only when i turn them on the behave different)
2 and 4 control about 4 ceiling lights inside the house, they have neutral wires.
3 controls the chandlier.nit has aneutral wire.
1,2,4 - are on one circuit breaker. 3 is on a different one.

looking at 1 you can see the two light fixture nuts wires coming in.
looking at the cluster of white wires - i assume those are neutral wires?

my questions:
A. can i remove the neutral wire from 2 and give it to 1? is it safe? will it break anything?
B. should i buy a short patch wire and connect it to the white cluster of what are i assume neutral wires and plug it to 1? or is there a good reason 1 never got a neutral wire given the light bulbs and 2 fixtures involved?
C. can i work on this setup without turning off the circuit breaker for 3? i need the light plus i cant really find it so far.

 

[notShai]

edit - in another room, there is another switch which contols 2,4 and 3 (basically to be able to turn those lights off and on from another room. #1 isnt part of that setup. im still uncertain why 2,3,4 have neutral wires and 1 doesnt, i dont assume its because of the other room 2nd switches, but thought itll be helpful to add.

 

[littlespark]

First of all, a disclaimer. I am UK based and have no hands-on experience with American wiring.
Advice is given in good faith, but might still be incorrect.

I think your idea of taking a white from switch 2 to provide a neutral is spot on. But you could take it from the bundle in the back of the switch.

Do you need to work out which black on switch 1 is the hot, and which 1 goes to the light?
Your switch may have an IN and an OUT for the hots.


Why some lights only work some of the time is a different issue than adding the Wi-Fi switch… but it might just be a loose connection at a switch, a fitting or one of the wire nuts.

 

[notShai]

First of all, a disclaimer. I am UK based and have no hands-on experience with American wiring.
Advice is given in good faith, but might still be incorrect.

I think your idea of taking a white from switch 2 to provide a neutral is spot on. But you could take it from the bundle in the back of the switch.

Do you need to work out which black on switch 1 is the hot, and which 1 goes to the light?
Your switch may have an IN and an OUT for the hots.


Why some lights only work some of the time is a different issue than adding the Wi-Fi switch… but it might just be a loose connection at a switch, a fitting or one of the wire nuts.

thank you so much. that worked out. i ended up shorting the live switch and sparks flew, but i recovered and its all working now.