I have a Dayton 1XJY1A blower that I'd like to wire to a single pole, 3-way light switch, and plug into a wall outlet using a standard 14/3 power cable. The blower has 4 running speeds, but I really only need one of them for now until I can find a proper 5 position rotary switch for it.
The blower wiring diagram looks like this:
And the switch looks like this:
I'm using a simple 14/3 power cable from hardware store, the kind with the wires pre-stripped for this sort of thing.
My first attempt at this was unsuccessful. I wired it as follows, but the blower wouldn't turn on in either switch position. Purple to cable white, black-1 to brass switch terminal-1, and cable black to brass switch terminal-2.
Nothing connected to black common screw on the switch. Green cable ground wire attached to green switch ground screw. The yellow, orange, and red blower wires were capped and unconnected.
Secondary question, the blower motor is grounded to the blower housing. Do I need to ground the housing to the switch ground screw?
Am I missing something here? This seems pretty straightforward, and yet the blower remains off.
Best Answer
You're using a 3-way switch incorrectly.
A 3-way switch may be more familiar to you as an SPDT switch. Black terminal is common. Therefore the two brass terminals will never connect to each other in any switch configuration.
You should connect switch black to your power supply black, one of the switch brass screws to the speed wires of your preference, and the other switch brass screw to nothing. (because you need to have an "off" position somewhere, right?).
I suppose you could connect the other brass screw to a different speed wire, but then the fan would be always running.
Oh, and two other things. First, fans generally need to be setup on a switch so they start on "HIGH" first. On lower settings they may not get enough torque to be able to start.
Second, make sure you are doing enclosures, grounding and other safety details in a manner UL would be likely to approve. No "science projects" with AC power; this stuff can kill you or start a fire.
The normal way you use a 3-way