I want to install a combination switch in an old bathroom toprovide an outlet for hairdryers, etc. as well as aswitch controlling the ceiling light. Currently the switch merely controls the ceiling light. I bought a combination switch andconnected the hot wire and neutral as instructed, and did not break the connector that serves both services.

It did not work. The switch turned the outlet on and off, but not the light. When I switched to the opposite neutral, it turned the light on and off, but the outlet did not work. Then, I connected the two neutrals with a short wire, but this did not help.

The outlet has a single hot and a single neutral. It is an old receptacle that grounds by way of the installation screws.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Eric

 

This was a switch and it only has one black and one white. You can't do it. You don't have a neutral. The white wire is actually a hot wire. This is a switch loop.