Bathroom fixture

QuestionEdit

Hello Greg. I am an active duty Air Force guy and I just moved into a house in VA. One of the bathrooms had a "plate" over a plastic 'box' with 2 black, 2 white wires along with a grounding wire (not insulated). I purchased a very simple two-bulb fixture and followed the instructions. After install was complete I flipped on the switch and the bathoom fan was operating nearly at a standstill and the two 60 Watt bulbs in the new fixture were VERY VERY dimly lit. Any thoughts? Thanks so much. Regards, Gary

AnswerEdit

Thank you for your service. Please give me more info. Was the box with a plate for a light or switch? Where was the box in the bathroom. Were the two blacks tied together and the two whites tied together?

It sounds like you wired this light in series with the fan instead of parallel, or you have a loose connection.

Remove the light bulbs and see if the fan comes on at all. If not, then you wired the fan and light in series. If it still turns at the same speed, slow, then you probably have a loose connection. Remove the fixture and wire it the way it was and see if the fan works properly. If it does work normally:

Turn off the breaker to the circuit. Make sure there is no power. Pull the switch out, but do not disconnect any wires. Tell me how many wires are in the box and where each one goes.