I recently replaced my bathroom's exhaust fan, which seemed like an easy task at first. The challenging part was getting the new housing to fit, but once I did, I turned the breaker back on and now both the lights and the fan aren't working. They were working fine before; the old fan just started losing power. I have three wires in the wall: bare, black, and white. The fan has four wires: green, black, white, and red. I was told to cap the red wire since it's for a booster I'm not using. Was this the right move? Should the red wire be connected with the black wire instead? If needed, I can link to the wiring diagram to clarify further.
3 Answers
It's crucial to double-check your connections. If you have a multimeter or a pen tester, see if you're getting power at the box when the switch and breaker are on. If there's no power, you may have a faulty switch or the breaker could be at fault. Make sure to flip the breaker off completely and then back on; sometimes it just needs a reset!
What model is your exhaust fan? Knowing that might help troubleshoot the wiring issues further. From what you've said, if it’s just a standard model like the Nutone PTE511RK, I think you’re on the right track with capping the red. But definitely investigate the power at the connections.
You got the wiring right for the most part! The bare wire is your ground, which connects to the green wire from the fan, the black is the hot wire, and the white is neutral. Capping the red wire is correct if you’re not using a booster, but make sure everything else is wired securely. Sometimes, exhaust fans have separate wiring for lights, so that might be why nothing's working. Check if all your connections are solid and ensure the switch is on. You could have a separate issue with the switch or breaker too.