- 1). Turn off the power to the electrical circuit that will feed the switch. Flip the breaker in your circuit breaker panel to do this.
- 2). Strip the outer insulation of electrical cable that comes from the power source back 2 inches to gain access to the individual wires inside. You now should have 2 inches of the three individual wires exposed-two insulated (black and white) and one bare. Strip the black and white wires back half an inch to expose copper wire inside.
- 3). Strip the two remaining electrical cables found in the switch box the same way as above. The cable in the previous step comes from the power source and is always "hot." Each of the cables in this step runs to a separate circuit controlled by one of the switches on the Leviton double switch.
- 4). Twist the white wires together and screw on a wire nut. Cut a 6-inch piece of electrical cable and strip off all insulation. Remove the bare (ground) wire. Twist the ground wires together, including the 6-inch piece of bare wire and screw on a wire nut. Connect the other end of the 6-inch piece of bare wire to the green terminal on the switch.
- 5). Connect the black wire from the power source to one of the black terminals on the switch. Terminal choice does not matter, they both provide power to the switch. Connect the black wire from one of the powered devices, a light or fan for example, to the upper or lower brass terminal. Terminal selection depends on which switch you want to power the device. The upper terminal corresponds with the upper switch, while the lower terminal corresponds to the lower switch. Connect the black wire from the other device to the other brass terminal.
- 6). Push the wires into the electrical box and screw the switch to the box.
- 7). Screw on a cover plate that matches the design of the switch and restore power to the circuit.
next post