Bathroom light/heater/fan switch wiring
#1
10-04-18, 09:46 AM
Bathroom light/heater/fan switch wiring
Hello all!
I need to replace an old (house built in 1922 but remodeled in 80's) 3 toggle bathroom light switch. I'd like to replace it with a new rocker switch. The old switch has 6 screws, 3 on each side, but the new one has 1 on the left and 3 on the right. If anyone could tell me what the wires are, particularly the two on the right that are coming from anywhere! Will add photos in thread, and thank ya'll in advance!
I need to replace an old (house built in 1922 but remodeled in 80's) 3 toggle bathroom light switch. I'd like to replace it with a new rocker switch. The old switch has 6 screws, 3 on each side, but the new one has 1 on the left and 3 on the right. If anyone could tell me what the wires are, particularly the two on the right that are coming from anywhere! Will add photos in thread, and thank ya'll in advance!
#3
10-04-18, 09:54 AM
The old switch had a separate "hot in" and "hot out" screw for each device. The new switch has a single "hot in" screw shared for all the devices. You'll have to examine the wiring inside the box to determine if the current wiring has all three devices branching from the same hot wire using short pigtails of wire or if the devices are wired as separate circuits. If they are separate circuits, this switch will not be compatible with your wiring, and you'll have to find one that has six terminals.
#4
10-04-18, 09:57 AM
...my last post was before the pics were up. With the pics, it seems the switch you have will work. The side that has the wire chained down the screws is the shared hot side. That top white wire is your incoming hot. (Modern code now requires that it be marked with black or red tape to distinguish it from a neutral wire.) That goes to the side of the switch with a single screw. You can snip off the extra length of stripped wire that goes to screw #2 and #3. The other three wires go to the corresponding switch terminals for each light/fan/heat equipment.
The grayish wire should also be marked with red or black to identify it as a hot wire.
The grayish wire should also be marked with red or black to identify it as a hot wire.
#5
10-04-18, 01:14 PM
Originally Posted by ibpooks
...my last post was before the pics were up. With the pics, it seems the switch you have will work. The side that has the wire chained down the screws is the shared hot side. That top white wire is your incoming hot. (Modern code now requires that it be marked with black or red tape to distinguish it from a neutral wire.) That goes to the side of the switch with a single screw. You can snip off the extra length of stripped wire that goes to screw #2 and #3. The other three wires go to the corresponding switch terminals for each light/fan/heat equipment.
The grayish wire should also be marked with red or black to identify it as a hot wire.
The grayish wire should also be marked with red or black to identify it as a hot wire.
