How do I adapt 3 wires to four?

Question

I am replacing a bathroom fan/light combo in my home. The old fan/light combo ran on two switches.One for the light and one for the fan. I want to hook the new one up the same way. The only problem is that the old setup had a black, red(well, slightly orange), and white wire. The new setup has a black, red, and TWO white wires. Are the white wires grounds? Do I just twist them together? Or will this do anything to the switch setup that I had? Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on this, as I always thought that the ground was a green or copper colored wire. Please advise....Thanks

Answer 1

The white wires are the 'neutrals' and in your case should all be wire nutted together. From your description you have an older wiring system and lack the ground or 'bare copper' wire.

Answer 2

Yes the whites are neutral. Tie them all together and then connect red to red and black to black. Most new combos like you have use separate neutrals for the fan and light, but they are all common to each other.

Answer 3

Follow the installation instructions that came with the product. If you are not a trained electrician, the easiest way is by using the most powerful tool in your home (the checkbook) to hire a good electrician. Otherwise, I recommend a good current electrical how-to book with pictures, such as that listed below, rather than taking advice from strangers on the internet on something that could endanger you and your home.