Hey everyone! I'm in the process of replacing my bathroom exhaust fan, and I've run into a bit of a snag. The old fan had a green wire and a bare copper wire twisted together in a wire nut. It's connected to a timer switch, which might matter for the wiring. Now I've got a new fan, and I need some guidance on what to do with the bare copper wire that's coming from the wall. I've attached some pictures of the new wiring housing and the instructions, but I'm a bit confused since there are only three connectors and they don't seem to match the provided hardware as per the diagram. Any tips would be super helpful, especially since my mother-in-law can't really afford a professional to help out. Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
Honestly, if you're not comfortable with this kind of wiring, maybe consider selling the house? Grounding shouldn't be taken lightly, and it's risky to leave things not connected properly.
The bare copper wire you see is meant for grounding. You should twist it together with the two green wires using a wire nut to secure them. If your new fan has a push-in connector for the ground, you can cut that off, strip the wire ends, and use your existing wire nut to connect them all. That should do the trick!
Just to clarify, the green wire and the bare copper wire are equivalent for grounding. You might be wondering if you should twist both together and insert them into the connector. You should actually twist them together and then insert them both into the connector, even if the diagram shows them separately. It can be a bit misleading, but that’s the right approach!
This makes sense, thanks!