0

Will you help me connect the remaining wires together so that the switches work correctly?

You can add extra wire if needed.

The important thing is to keep the switches the way they are.

In this situation, the white is acting as the hot and providing power to both switches via the pigtail.

Where does ceiling fan get neutral and ground?

The goal is for switch 1 to control the light fixture, and switch 2 to control the ceiling fan.

[enter image description here enter image description here

| improve this question | |
  • Is this an existing scenario or are you starting from scratch? See xyproblem.info – isherwood Jul 16 '18 at 16:47
  • Are you saying that the box for switch 2 doesn't contain a full cable, just a bare black wire? This would all be much easier if you explained what you're trying to accomplish. I assume it has something to do with a smart switch, but we're all guessing here. – isherwood Jul 16 '18 at 17:26
  • Does the cable between switch 2 and ceiling fan have black, white, and ground conductors, or only the black wire? – A. I. Breveleri Jul 16 '18 at 17:41
  • You're right, isherwood and Breverleri... it's just a single black wire. It's not bare though. It does have a coating. I'm included pictures of the actual switches, too. – Michael Yebba Jr Jul 16 '18 at 18:00
  • Can you post a photo showing where the wires enter the switch box? – ThreePhaseEel Jul 16 '18 at 22:21
1

Power from source goes to fixture in ceiling box first. That would be ok fir a pull chain apparatus. However there was a desire to have 2 devices powered from this source. Thus the plan emerged to redirect the power source to a box on the wall. This source only needed to be a hot leg since the neutral/ground would be tied together in ceiling boxes. The hot wire into the wall box was then shared onto 2 switches via the pigtail and a white wire carries the power back to one ceiling device while a black wire carries power to the other ceiling device.

| improve this answer | |
  • If you look at the picture and diagram, the hot wire in this case that is carrying power to the box is the white wire. Based on my diagram, what would you do with the junction of three black wires at the ceiling fan box? – Michael Yebba Jr Jul 16 '18 at 18:21
  • @MichaelYebbaJr is the source in this scenario the breaker box? Is it possible your switches are interrupting a neutral instead of a hot? – Kris Jul 16 '18 at 18:36
  • @MichaelYebbaJr diy.stackexchange.com/questions/55719/…. Switching the neutral is a problem – Kris Jul 17 '18 at 2:40

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.