Replaced one switch for two light fixtures
#1
12-11-17, 03:44 PM
Replaced one switch for two light fixtures
I replaced a toggle (off/on) single switch that controls both the vanity lights and a ceiling light in my bathroom. However, only the ceiling light turns on. Is it possible while attaching the wires to the new switch, the wire to the vanity fixture came off? Could there be another explanation?
#2
12-11-17, 05:38 PM
Group Moderator
Welcome to the forums.
You are asking us to guess. Could a wire have broken off..... yes.
How many wires were on the switch ?
You are asking us to guess. Could a wire have broken off..... yes.
How many wires were on the switch ?
#3
12-15-17, 01:42 PM
Besides the ground, there was a red wire that was connected at its terminal end to the switch, and a black wire that was connected between it's terminal ends. See attachment.
#4
12-15-17, 02:24 PM
Group Moderator
If that's the old switch..... it is a 3 way switch.
Is there another switch that works with that one ?
Is that the original wiring in that picture ?
Is there another switch that works with that one ?
Is that the original wiring in that picture ?
#6
12-20-17, 12:00 PM
I got it fixed. I took the fixture off and it seemed all the wires were connected. Then I took another look at the switch. I reinserted a wire, which I thought was a ground wire, into a hole at the back of the switch. Both light fixtures come on. Perhaps that wire is a hot wire, and not a ground.
#7
12-20-17, 05:07 PM
Group Moderator
That wire pushed in to the back is actually connected to the red screw terminal. Using both is a recipe for problems. That pushed in black wire and the red wire should be connected together along with a short piece of wire to connect the splice to where the red wire was on the switch.
#8
12-21-17, 09:05 AM
Pete, thanks for the heads up. But, that's how I found it before I did anything. See the picture. This is the first time I replaced this switch. So, whoever wired this when the house was built did it wrong?
