Hi all. I have a bathroom fan on a simple switch but wanted to upgrade it to a time. When I pulled the switch out of the wall I found one ground wire, and a singe wire with some of the sheathing removed to loop around the other terminal.
Can I cut the looped wire and connect it to the load / line on the timer? Then I connect the ground to the uncapped ground/neutral on the switch?
Edit: the advice worked.
I put the unlooped black wire with one of the black wires on the timer. I cut the black loop and tied the two wires to another black wire on the timer. I put another grounding wire on the metal box and attached it to ground. Likewise, I pigtailed the neutral bundle and connected to neutral.
It took a few tries to get the box to close correctly since the timer is so big, but it worked out! Thanks again all.
I’m not an electrician, but is it common to not have ground/neutral on a switch? When I disconnected it only those two wires were actually connected to the switch.
It’s a 3 gang box.
The requirement for everything to have a ground wire is fairly new in the scheme of home construction. Depending on when the house was built, and depending on if everything up to now was done to code, would impact if it's there.
Ground is connected to the metal box. The switch (is supposed to be) in contact with the box via the metal screw and the metal tabs. If a ground connection is provided, I usually add it to the ground bundle or screw or to the box.
Neutrals aren’t on simple light switches. Without a neutral, your smarter switch will need to pass a bit of current through the fan. If you have a high efficiency fan, you might have a problem. They call that out in the instructions usually. Either way, it’s a good plan to connect the neutral. You might need a new wire nut for that. Or get some (name brand) wagos, which are way easier to work with.
The stripped loop is builder grade electrical work when they’re paid piecework. It does save space in the box, but it’s not something I love. It is the line.