If both the light and fan come on when the switch is toggled the isolated wire is probably feeding through to another circuit. Adding a new light is easy because you can wire it to the existing light.
Fan And Light Dual Slide Preset Switch
Light and fan on same switch. Mount the fan and light and move to the switch box. Twist the ground wires together and connect them to the green ground screw on the switch. Connect the black wire from the fan to the bottom terminal of the switch and the live circuit wire to the top terminal. If only the light or fan turns on when the switch is toggled then youre in luck. A 20 amp switch costs about 3. Some rooms remain dark and dreary with a single ceiling or wall light fixture.
This new wire is called a pigtail. In both switch box and fanlight box all grounds should be connected wire nut together. Connect a light and a fan to a new switch. Thats how you wire a ceiling fan with light to one switch. Plus the existing switch will control both lights. To turn the fan and lights off separately use the pull chains on the fan.
Locate the switch cable which must be glued through the top or side of the box that serves the fan or the light. Using wire strippers peel an inch of insulation from the end of the black and white wires. Splice the white wires together and cap them. If you already have lights and a fan on two switches simply label the wires off each switch remove them from the switches and remove the light switches. Tie the equivalent wires together with wire nutswhile adding a new length of wire long enough to reach the switch you want active. More energy and money.
Now when you turn on your light switch the fan will have power. Connect the black fan cable together with the black light wire and the black switch wire and cover them. In both these cases youll have to run an additional wire. Not hard to do should take the sparky no time at all. If your configuration is panelpower fanlight switch box then the setup will be a little different. Note that this is based on panelpower switch box fanlight.
Get a new 20 amp switch. A standard 15 amp switch costs about 75 cents. Its best to make sure your light switch is up to carrying the load of both the fan and the light. Replacing your old light switch with a 20 amp switch isnt a bad idea. Stripping and twisting wires together and adding a wire nut takes only a minute or two. And is it common to have the wires for both the fan and the light easily accessible behind the switch loop of twin and earth from fan to light and a new switch wire from the switch to the light so there is a switch wire for the fan and the light.
Gallery of Light And Fan On Same Switch
