Beenthere,
“For your safety, get some help.”
I am asking everyone I know and posting here!
“The three wires you describe - black, white, and bare copper - are hot, neutral, and ground in a 2 wire w/ground cable.”
Yes, that is exactly what I have.
“The black should feed one side of the double switch connected by a strap.”
Again, that’s exactly what I have.
“The other side of the switch should have two separate terminals - one for each switch. From each of those terminals should be a black wire running to the fan, and another black (or red) wire running to the light. These are hot when the switch makes them hot.”
I have not yet installed the new fan/light, the original light is still in place. I also have not connected anything to the new cable I pulled through. All I’m doing right now is trying to make one of the switches in my new double switch work in place of the original single switch using the original wires. I don’t understand what you mean when you say to run a black wire to the light (or fan), because I’ve already used the black wire that’s in the cable to connect to the “feed”/“line” (hot) side of the switch so all I have left is the white wire.
“Be safe, and know what you are doing, and do not guess.”
I appreciate your concern. Believe me, I am being careful. I’m just getting ideas from people and hoping someone will say something that will make me say to myself “oh, that’s it!”. When I get this all done I plan to use my volt meter to check for voltage between the metal casing of the light and ground.