Switch, Outlet, and Fan Wiring Help!
#1
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Switch, Outlet, and Fan Wiring Help!
I want to install a fan in our soon to be baby girls bedroom. There is currently no wiring to the ceiling, but there are 2 switches in the bedroom.
Switch one (closest to the door), has no wiring. It is just a placeholder. I believe the reasoning for this is because before we bought this house, the previous owners knocked down a wall to make a 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom house. There is an outlet separating these two rooms now. My guess is they wired the new outlet to the other bedroom circuit and removed the wiring to this switch.
Switch two (furthest from the door) is wired to the lone outlet on the same wall as the door/switches. There are only two wires to this switch (black and white). This does control both top and bottom plugs on the outlet.
Now...at the outlet, there are 4 sets of wires in the outlet. It appears 3 of the blacks + 1 white are wire together. Then the whites are plugged into the outlet. The grounds are all together and one ground appears to go into the outlet.
What I would like to happen is this:
Switch 1 (closest to the door), control the fan light.
Switch 2 control the fan
Outlet can stay switched if needed (this is not going to be accessible due to the large dresser/changing table combo we have.
So my question is, how do I run the wiring from the fan to the switches. And how do I get power to the other (first) switch?
I have attached pictures below for what it looks like currently.




Switch one (closest to the door), has no wiring. It is just a placeholder. I believe the reasoning for this is because before we bought this house, the previous owners knocked down a wall to make a 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom house. There is an outlet separating these two rooms now. My guess is they wired the new outlet to the other bedroom circuit and removed the wiring to this switch.
Switch two (furthest from the door) is wired to the lone outlet on the same wall as the door/switches. There are only two wires to this switch (black and white). This does control both top and bottom plugs on the outlet.
Now...at the outlet, there are 4 sets of wires in the outlet. It appears 3 of the blacks + 1 white are wire together. Then the whites are plugged into the outlet. The grounds are all together and one ground appears to go into the outlet.
What I would like to happen is this:
Switch 1 (closest to the door), control the fan light.
Switch 2 control the fan
Outlet can stay switched if needed (this is not going to be accessible due to the large dresser/changing table combo we have.
So my question is, how do I run the wiring from the fan to the switches. And how do I get power to the other (first) switch?
I have attached pictures below for what it looks like currently.





#2
If you are not concerned about keeping the switched receptacle this won't be bad.
You have a switch loop right now, power is coming to the switch on the white, and back to the receptacle on black.
You will need to get a neutral to your switch box. So all you would need to do is joint your blacks together and your whites together at the receptacle. Add a small piece of wire to each to pigtail off to the receptacle. Your receptacle will now be always live, and since you moved the switch white to the neutrals you will have a hot and a neutral to your switch box.
The hot on your two wire cable will need two pigtails, one to each switch.
Run a 3 wire cable from the switch box to your fan. The whites can be jointed together, then the black to one switch, and the red to the other switch. Joint the fan accordingly in the ceiling and you're done.
You have a switch loop right now, power is coming to the switch on the white, and back to the receptacle on black.
You will need to get a neutral to your switch box. So all you would need to do is joint your blacks together and your whites together at the receptacle. Add a small piece of wire to each to pigtail off to the receptacle. Your receptacle will now be always live, and since you moved the switch white to the neutrals you will have a hot and a neutral to your switch box.
The hot on your two wire cable will need two pigtails, one to each switch.
Run a 3 wire cable from the switch box to your fan. The whites can be jointed together, then the black to one switch, and the red to the other switch. Joint the fan accordingly in the ceiling and you're done.
#3
Simplest would be to make the switched receptacle always hot and use it's switch with the fan. The second switch in the box could be used for the fan light if you run 3-conductor cable to the fan. Is there an unfinished attic above.
#5
If you want to make the switched receptacle always hot here is the procedure:
- At the ceiling install a fan rated box.
- Disconnect the switch and remove the box.
- In the attic run a xx-3 cable from the fan box to the wall above the switch.
- Fish the cable from the attic to where you removed the switch box.
- Install an old work 2-gang box inserting both the old and new cable.
- Disconnect all the wires except ground.
- Connect all the blacks to a pigtail and connect the pigtail to the brass side of the receptacle.
- Connect all the whites to a pigtail and connect the pigtail to the silver side.
- Connect the whites to each other.
- Connect the black from the receptacle to two pigtails.
- Connect one pigtail to each switch.
- Connect the black from the fan to one switch.
- Connect the red from the fan to the other switch:
#7
In the picture with the wire nut, why is the one white wire in the group of blacks?
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1st step done. 14/3 run in the attic and is in the wall. Tomorrow I'll pull the wire through the switch box, and redo the wiring in the outlet. I will most likely have some questions tomorrow.
I hate working in the attic. It's been over a year when I put in some can lights in our kitchen. I wish there was more time in between having to go up there
I hate working in the attic. It's been over a year when I put in some can lights in our kitchen. I wish there was more time in between having to go up there

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Okay so this is at the switch. I've the black (power from receptacle) pigtailed into 2. One for each switch. The black wire that is by itself is the hot from the fan.
Where do I hook up this black wire from the fan?
I have the two white wires together
The red is the light from the fan. Where does this wire go?
Do I need to pigtail the ground from the fan to each switch?
Where do I hook up this black wire from the fan?
I have the two white wires together
The red is the light from the fan. Where does this wire go?
Do I need to pigtail the ground from the fan to each switch?

#11
Not what I expected to see. Is the wire connected to the two pigtails red? Is there a black wire, perhaps cut off coming from the silver cable the red one comes from? Is there a red wire at the receptacle?
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The wire that has the two pigtails is coming from the receptacle. It is black.
There is no red wire at the receptacle. The red wire is what I ran up to the fan.
So this is what I have done so far:
At the fan....connected black wire from new romex to black on fan (labeled hot). Connected white from new romex to white on fan. Connected the red from new romex to blue on fan (light). Connected bare ground to green ground on fan.The above new 14/3 wiring is run in the attic, through the top plate, and to the switch box.
There was only a black and white wire coming from the receptacle to the switch box. So far I have connected the white from new romex above to the white from the receptacle. The black from the receptacle I have pigtailed to two wires.
At the receptacle, I grouped all the black and white wires together (separated by color). Pigtailed each, and connected to new receptacle. This is hooked up and tested. It is no longer controlled by the switch.
All that's left:
Ground wire(s) at switch box
Black wire at switch box
Black pigtailed wires from receptacle
Red wire (light) from fan to switch box
There is no red wire at the receptacle. The red wire is what I ran up to the fan.
So this is what I have done so far:
At the fan....connected black wire from new romex to black on fan (labeled hot). Connected white from new romex to white on fan. Connected the red from new romex to blue on fan (light). Connected bare ground to green ground on fan.The above new 14/3 wiring is run in the attic, through the top plate, and to the switch box.
There was only a black and white wire coming from the receptacle to the switch box. So far I have connected the white from new romex above to the white from the receptacle. The black from the receptacle I have pigtailed to two wires.
At the receptacle, I grouped all the black and white wires together (separated by color). Pigtailed each, and connected to new receptacle. This is hooked up and tested. It is no longer controlled by the switch.
All that's left:
Ground wire(s) at switch box
Black wire at switch box
Black pigtailed wires from receptacle
Red wire (light) from fan to switch box
#13
You've pretty well nailed it.
However I would clean up the switch box a little.
Strip the 3 wire romex back a little more, until your have about 9" exposed. Clamp it in the box so there is only a small amount of casing showing.
The two wire length is ok but try and push the cable back so it is clamped with only a small amount of casing showing.
Your pigtails can be trimmed in half.
The tape on your marette isn't necessary.
Now to connect your switches....
Position doesn't matter. Think of your switches as touching the two wires connected to it together and pulling them apart as you toggle it on and off. You can place the pigtail on the top screw or bottom.
One pigtail to each switch.
Then the red from your 3 wire will go to one switch, and the black from your 3 wire to another switch.
Your bond will connect to a bond screw on the back of the box.
However I would clean up the switch box a little.
Strip the 3 wire romex back a little more, until your have about 9" exposed. Clamp it in the box so there is only a small amount of casing showing.
The two wire length is ok but try and push the cable back so it is clamped with only a small amount of casing showing.
Your pigtails can be trimmed in half.
The tape on your marette isn't necessary.
Now to connect your switches....
Position doesn't matter. Think of your switches as touching the two wires connected to it together and pulling them apart as you toggle it on and off. You can place the pigtail on the top screw or bottom.
One pigtail to each switch.
Then the red from your 3 wire will go to one switch, and the black from your 3 wire to another switch.
Your bond will connect to a bond screw on the back of the box.
#14
Must be my monitor. Wire looks brown till I enlarge the looks like discolored red colored cloth insulated wire. Sorry for the confusion. Now I'm not seeing a ground wire from the receptacle. If the box isn't grounded so you can do as Mr. A suggested we have a coded problem.