Help with Wiring Bathroom Switches
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Help with Wiring Bathroom Switches
Hey guys,
Can someone give me some help with wiring these switches? There are to be two switches, one controlling vanity light, one controlling exhaust fan/light.
Thanks in advance, and let me know if I need to explain anything!
Rick
Can someone give me some help with wiring these switches? There are to be two switches, one controlling vanity light, one controlling exhaust fan/light.
Thanks in advance, and let me know if I need to explain anything!
Rick
#2
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
Posts: 16,321
Received 38 Upvotes
on
30 Posts
I have some questions for you first. Are you in Cook county? Did you get a permit for this job? I ask these questions because I see both conduit (center bottom of the box) AND type NM cable. Cook county requires conduit for all electrical work.
#3
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Kendall County. The work to this point was performed by a licensed electrician, and all necessary permits were in place. The NM cable is run through conduit as well.
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Definitely done by an electrician. Perhaps I'm mistaken in thinking that the NM is run through conduit? I can't really see now that drywall is all in place.
#6
Kendall County. The work to this point was performed by a licensed electrician, and all necessary permits were in place. The NM cable is run through conduit as well.
#7
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
There is no residential conduit requirement in Kendall County (about two hours southwest of Chicago). The inspector made no comments as to code violations on inspection.
#8
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
Posts: 16,321
Received 38 Upvotes
on
30 Posts
Okay, now that we have established that the wiring method is approved and passed inspection tell us what the two cables are for. You stated something about wiring switches but until we know where the new cables go we can't answer.
#9
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Thanks. The NM on the right as you look at the photo is the load I believe. The two pieces of NM on the left are wired to the fan and the vanity light. What's got me confused is how the red, white, and blue cables in the center come into play.
Last edited by micus; 09-13-13 at 07:10 AM.
#10
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
Posts: 16,321
Received 38 Upvotes
on
30 Posts
We seem to have a language barrier. Load means the electrical device being powered. Your fan and vanity lights are loads. The term cable denotes a factory assembly of more than two conductors, conductors being individual wires. The three wires in the center are most likely a 240/120 volt "multi-wire branch circuit" (MWBC) What the type NM on the right (that you called load) might be is something you will have to determine, could it be for a heater?
Do you have any kind of meter or "squeaker" to determine voltages? Why didn't the electrician who ran the type NM also connect the switches?
Do you have any kind of meter or "squeaker" to determine voltages? Why didn't the electrician who ran the type NM also connect the switches?
#12
Lack of information may has impeded answers to your problem. Please answer all the questions below. There is no single way to wire and we can only guess without adequate information.
Using a multimeter (preferably analog) or a solenoid type tester measure the voltage between the black and white of each 2-conductor cable. Mark the cable that shows 120 volts. (A non contact tester is useless for this.)
Open the fan connection box and determine the connections there. Post those along with a picture.
Open the vanity light box and tell and show us the wiring there.
Using a multimeter (preferably analog) or a solenoid type tester measure the voltage between the black and white of each 2-conductor cable. Mark the cable that shows 120 volts. (A non contact tester is useless for this.)
Open the fan connection box and determine the connections there. Post those along with a picture.
Open the vanity light box and tell and show us the wiring there.