Urgent! Problems Wiring a Decora combo switch.

[gallagher]

After days of work installing a bathroom exhaust fan this was supposed to be the "day" when I flipped the switch and smiled. Nothing of the sort. I am trying to wire the light and fan off a common feed however I must be missing something. Only the light works. I had it hooked up once where one switch operated both the fan and light. When one turned off the other turned on?! To complicate matters a bit there is a yellow wire in the mix that when connected to the load side is part of the light wiring. There is a ground fault outlet in the bathroom. I don't know if this is revalent or not. In the box there are four feeds in conduit: 1. white and black, 2. white and black, 3. white and yellow, 4. white, black and green( the exhaust fan wiring). 1 and 2 black connect to the hot right side. Yellow wire from the third feed connects to the load side of the switch. This powers the light. When I connect the black fan wire to the other hot side screw and the white wire to the other load side screw nothing happens. Please help so I can sleep tonight. Thanks!!!

[gallagher]

After days of work installing a bathroom exhaust fan this was supposed to be the "day" when I flipped the switch and smiled. Nothing of the sort. I am trying to wire the light and fan off a common feed however I must be missing something. Only the light works. I had it hooked up once where one switch operated both the fan and light. When one turned off the other turned on?! To complicate matters a bit there is a yellow wire in the mix that when connected to the load side is part of the light wiring. There is a ground fault outlet in the bathroom. I don't know if this is revalent or not. In the box there are four feeds in conduit: 1. white and black, 2. white and black, 3. white and yellow, 4. white, black and green( the exhaust fan wiring). 1 and 2 black connect to the hot right side. Yellow wire from the third feed connects to the load side of the switch. This powers the light. When I connect the black fan wire to the other hot side screw and the white wire to the other load side screw nothing happens. Please help so I can sleep tonight. Thanks!!!

[gallagher]

After days of work installing a bathroom exhaust fan this was supposed to be the "day" when I flipped the switch and smiled. Nothing of the sort. I am trying to wire the light and fan off a common feed however I must be missing something. Only the light works. I had it hooked up once where one switch operated both the fan and light. When one turned off the other turned on?! To complicate matters a bit there is a yellow wire in the mix that when connected to the load side is part of the light wiring. There is a ground fault outlet in the bathroom. I don't know if this is revalent or not. In the box there are four feeds in conduit: 1. white and black, 2. white and black, 3. white and yellow, 4. white, black and green( the exhaust fan wiring). 1 and 2 black connect to the hot right side. Yellow wire from the third feed connects to the load side of the switch. This powers the light. When I connect the black fan wire to the other hot side screw and the white wire to the other load side screw nothing happens. Please help so I can sleep tonight. Thanks!!!

[Doug Miller]

Sounds like you had a 3-way switch. Not what you want.

If you want to be able to turn the light and the fan on and off independently of one another, you obviously need two switches. It sounds like you were attempting to control two devices with one switch. Perhaps you could post a little more detail about the type of switch you have? For example, is this "combo switch" a switch-and-outlet combo, or two switches?

Whoa, cowboy, stop right there. Your white wire should *not* be connected to the switch -- that's the neutral wire, and it should be connected to the other white wires. STOP RIGHT NOW! You don't know enough about how wiring works to be able to do this safely. Go to your local library, or a home center such as Lowe's or Home Depot, and get yourself a book on residential electrical wiring BEFORE you touch this again. Please.