I am replacing old 3 button (vertically aligned) light switch. There is 1 thick wire wrapped in white, 1 thick wire wrapped in black and 4 thin wires wrapped in black. I attached the white wire to the common wire screw and put the remaining wires around the screws. I am also replacing a toggle switch that will control the vanity lights above the sink. There are 4 clumps of wire coming through the box. The copper grounds are all twisted together, and there are multiple strands of white covered wire twisted together and then the 5 black cover wires and 1 white covered wires. After hooking it all up, it doesn't do anything. No lights, fan or heat lamp. What did I do wrong?
Sounds like a mess. But to answer the narrow question, Black wire carries Hot power, White wire is Neutral, and bare copper or green is Ground. Don't kill yourself or cause a fire!!
Jeff Verde nailed it but forgot one thing. Never assume that the last person that installed wiring hooked it up to the right colors! I've even seen people use a hot wire (Black) as the ground. Never assume it's right to start with!
