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I am replacing two old switches in a bathroom. I purchased two standard single pole switches from home depot (two screws on one side, ground screw on the other) the old switches had a wire connecting the two switches.

I'm assuming the line from the panel feeds one switch, the jumper wire feeds the other switch and the other two wires power their respective light sources. I've tried multiple connections and am getting the same problem. The switches do not work independently.

One switch seems to power both of them, so when i turn that switch on, both lights turn on, then the other switch can turn on and off it's light only if the other switch is on.

What am i doing wrong?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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  • A picture showing the wires & switches would help a lot.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Feb 7, 2021 at 20:25
  • Yes, can you post photos of the inside of the box in question please?
    – ThreePhaseEel
    Feb 7, 2021 at 20:35
  • i would like to post some pics of the wiring but for the life of me, i can't figure out where to post pics??
    – mike w
    Feb 7, 2021 at 21:24
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    my photos were to big to post so i will try and send a link... photos.app.goo.gl/GLWDvjuCq3K72zSu5
    – mike w
    Feb 7, 2021 at 21:40

1 Answer 1

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Pretty sure you have crossed up the hot wire. Disconnect all three wires from switches, temporarily connect or bump all three two-wire combinations. Only one combination will power neither light, the solo wire will be the hot that needs to be jumpered between switches.

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