DUH!!
 

Thought you could all have a laugh at my stupidity.

I needed an extra outlet in my bathroom. The area I wanted it was right underneath a double wall switch so I figured, no problem, I'll just pull it off a switch. So I installed the outlet and ran the wire into the switch box. One switch was for the light, the other for the fan. Since the light switch had several circuits going through it and the fan switch only had one, I hooked the wire into the fan switch hot lead. It was tough to tell which wire was black or white since they were all spraypainted, but I took my best guess.

Once everything was done and I turned the breaker on, I checked the outlet with an LED tester and realized the polarity was reversed, so I opened it up and switched the leads at the outlet. Now everything checked out and the light and fan worked well.

So I went to clean up the drywall powder and plugged the vacuum cleaner into my new outlet. I turned on the cleaner and heard only the sound of the fan come on....

Excellent.

hehe...DIY electrical is always fun.

Sounds like something I would do.

Black and white at a switch doesn't necessarily mean hot and neutral present-it sometimes means hot only, as it is a switch leg from the device (fan or light).

That's what this sounds like, as your vacuum was acting like a switch and closing the circuit for the fan.

If there are no neutrals present in the box, you're stuck unless you can fish in a new branch feeder.

Some customers wonder why I won't quote a "simple job" over the phone. This is one of the many reasons.

that sucks. Well, at least dry wall is easy to brake lol...

What Kazoo said. Get the switch out and look behind it. THey might have tied the white wire off behind the switch.

I would also encourage you to go out and get the Black and Decker basic wiring book. You can get 'em at just about any hardware store. It's very well put together and will help you identify and work with just about anything you'll face in normal jobs.

And of course, never forget that even when you shut the breaker off, you should consider the power to still be on and take appropriate precautions.

and thats why I pay a professional. I don't mind changing out a bad switch or replacing a fixture, but I won't go much past that. (That being said, anyone know anyone in the Seattle area who can install some recessed can lights for cheap? :-) )

Thanks for the advise Kazoo. I think I mistook the switch leg for a neutral and ended up bypassing the switch with my outlet. I'm pretty sure theres a neutral in there, so I'll try again tomorrow.

You shoulda seen the look on my wife's face when I turned that vacuum on- Priceless!

BTW Shakran, I have that book. I just never bother looking in it!

Hey, I'll do it for ya.....Course, your toilet may flush when you flip on the light......

You're making me remember the 3 Stooges episode where they go into the home improvement business and succeed in basically trashing a lovely home.

If memory serves, one scene has Curly flipping a light switch and water squirts out of the dining room chandelier.

Hey Moe! Hey Moe!

I KNOW that look! :lol:

That is great. It would make a great practical joke. wire up a room so nothing works as expected.