Wiring question: I’m installing a new bathroom fan/light fixture (complete bathroom demo) and I’m replacing the ancient double pole switch that operated the old one. There is one existing hot wire to feed both switches, and two separate wires running to the new fan/light fixture. (make sense so far? I’m reading this and it seems foggy.) I’m trying to figure out how to wire it without a bunch of pigtails. Switch manu. says to hook up the incoming hot wire to the switch and then the neutral wires for the two cables feeding the fixture, and splice the remaining wires. Does that make sense? I can’t imagine it doesn’t but I wanted to check. Thanks.
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A two POLE switch is one that has two sets of contacts, they operate with single lever. One place that it is used is for multiple baths that share a common vent fan. One pole is used turn the light on. The other pole is paralleled with the switches in the other bathroom. Thus the light operate separately, but the fan is on when the lights are on in any one of the baths.
I think that you are talking about a dual switch. Two separate switches on one yoke.
There is one existing hot wire to feed both switches, and two separate wires running to the new fan/light fixture.
By wires I am assume that you mean cables. You have 3 cables and each has a black (hot), white (neutral), and bare wire (ground). But if it is old enough then it might not have the ground wire.
And there are other wiring schemes so let me know if what you have it different. And give the details.
Connect the 3 grounds together along with a short bare wire and wire nut them. The short piece with connect to the ground terminal (green) on the switch.
Connect the 3 neutrals together and wire nut them.
Connect the hot from the supply cable to 2 short piece of black wire and wire nut them. Connect each of the short pieces of black wire to one side of each of the two switches. You can do this by daisychain the wire, but this is more difficult. Use the pigtails.
Then connect the fan hot wire to the other side of one of the switches and the light to the other one.
Edited 9/13/2004 2:48 pm ET by Bill Hartmann
Edited 9/13/2004 2:49 pm ET by Bill Hartmann
Your assumptions are correct, and I apologize for the nomenclature. I've seen this type of switch referred to as a double-pole, so I went with it. The cable is all new.
Thanks for the info. For clarification, though, you said to take the incoming hot wire and splice 3 shorter black pieces to it, then attach them to each of the terminals.
"Connect the hot from the supply cable to 3 short piece of black wire and wire nut them. Connect each of the short pieces of black wire to one side of each of the two switches. You can do this by daisychain the wire, but this is more difficult. Use the pigtails. "
There are 2 hot terminals, so what happens with the 3rd short wire?
Otherwise, everything makes sense-thanks again for explaining it.
Edited 9/13/2004 2:12 pm ET by johnniev
Sorry, that should be 2 short blacks. I justed corrected.