Bathroom Fan/Light Combo, New Install

[transferguy]

Posted By: shuter88

I am installing a new Harbor Breeze fan/light combination in a new bathroom. Any wiring in this room is being installed right now. Nothing existing. I have a device that has two 3-way switches on it. One of them I am going to use just as a one-pole switch for the fan. The other will be a 3-way switch for the light, and the light will also be controlled by another 3-way switch. I used this http://www.wiringdoneright.com/fanli...dseparately/4/ but I cannot figure out what I did wrong. Here is what I have:

If I turn on the fan switch, the light comes on and the 3-way switches don't control anything.

If i turn the fan switch off, the light turns off. Once the fan switch is off, both 3-way switches control both the fan and light fully no matter the position of the other 3-way. Could someone tell me what I did wrong? Thanks

in Syracuse, New York

[transferguy]

Posted By: chrisb

You need to give us a description of what cables you ran, how you ran the cables and how you connected the switches and fixtures.

[transferguy]

Posted By: dkerr

Hi welcome to our forums...

2 things come to mind - check that the correct wire is on common screw of each of the 3 way switches.

WEB LINK

in that wiring sequence at one of the switch boxes you have 3 cables entering it and as such it could be easy to be confused with like colored wires in the same box that you could have taken a wire from one cable instead of another cable in certain connections, so check that.

Next make sure at the fixture that fan and lights (ungrounded conductors - hots) are not bridged together there but are in fact separate connections.

[transferguy]

Posted By: shuter88

Posted by chrisb
You need to give us a description of what cables you ran, how you ran the cables and how you connected the switches and fixtures.

Hot 2-wire comes from breaker to Switch Box 1. Black wire pigtailed with black from Switch Box 2 and with jumper going to the one-pole switch. White wire from breaker pigtailed with white wire to fixture.
Black wire from fixture attached to common screw in SB1. Red wire from fixture to single pole switch.
Red and white wires from SB2 attached to mains of 3-way in SB1.

At fixture, 3-wire cable comes in from SB1. Red connected to Fan Hot/black. Black from SB1 connected to Light hot/black. All 3 whites pig tailed.

At SB 2, 3-wire cable comes in from SB 1. Black to common. White and red to main screws.

Update: Fan (single pole) switch works normally. Light cannot be turned off at all.

[transferguy]

Posted By: shuter88

At Switch Box 1 (SB1), I have 3 cables coming in. A 2-wire coming from the breaker, a 3-wire going to Switch Box 2 (SB2) and a 3-wire going to the fixture.
In SB1, Black coming from the breaker is pig-tailed with black going to SB2, and black going to one of the mains on the single-pole fan switch.
White from breaker is pigtailed with white from fixture.
Red from fixture goes to a main on the single pole switch. Black from fixture goes to Common.
White and red from SB 2 go to the 2 mains on the 3 way switch.
At fixture, one cable coming in from SB1. All 3 whites are pigtailed. Black goes to hot of light. Red goes to hot of fan.

At SB2, one cable coming in from SB1. Black to common. Red and white to the mains.

Single pole fan switch works exactly as it should. Light is always on and neither 3 way has any effect.

[transferguy]

Posted By: dkerr

Single pole fan switch works exactly as it should. Light is always on and neither 3 way has any effect.

confirm:

1. The light is always on regardless if fan switch is on or off

OR

2. The light is always on when the fan switch is ON
Last edited by dkerr; 04-30-2013 at 02:07 PM.
Donald Kerr
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Don't Let Your House go up in Flames
Get It Right the First Time!

[transferguy]

Posted By: dkerr



that is what I drew according to your description (never drew the part at the fixture)
which is why I need the answer in my previous post as there should be no unswitched power at the fixture