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Step 4Wiring it up
Wiring up a range hood is rather easy. But first, the obligatory warnings: 120V is enough to kick your ass if you do something stupid (like plugging in the cord before you start wiring it). As long as you use your head and maintain a healthy respect for the danger electricity can present, you should be fine.
Right, on with the show. Find or build a cord with one male end, long enough to reach the nearest outlet. The cord I used was salvaged from a VCR, so it already had a male end to plug into the wall. If you have no such cord, you can find bulk wire and end connectors at your local hardware store. My range hood had a single live (black) wire that ran to the switches on the front panel, and two neutral (white) ones returning from the fan and light. Pass the cord through the opening in the back, strip the ends of the wires, twist the corresponding ends together, and secure them with a wire nut. Make sure the connection is secure by holding the nut and gently tugging at each wire. If any come out, remove the nut and try again.
A sealed strain-relief bulkhead should be used to pass the cord through the shroud, but I'm cheap so I made my own. The appliance end of my cord had a square strain relief where it passed through the VCR casing, but unfortunately my range hood has a round hole. I could have cut out a square hole to use instead, but I found a rubber grommet (I think it was a motor mount from a burnt-up washing machine motor) that was about the right size to use as a seal. I had to cut it open to get the cord inside it, and closed it back up with a cable tie, squeezing it snug against the cord.. To prevent it from pulling out I wrapped a second cable tie around the cord on the inside of the grommet, tight enough so that it won't easily slip but not tight enough to crush the cord. Wedge that baby in and we're just about done.
Check one last time to make sure there are no loose connections, etc. Throw in a light bulb and plug it in to test the light and fan. If everything works, go ahead and install the wiring cover (if you don't have a cover, just tuck/tie/tape them out of the way).
Right, on with the show. Find or build a cord with one male end, long enough to reach the nearest outlet. The cord I used was salvaged from a VCR, so it already had a male end to plug into the wall. If you have no such cord, you can find bulk wire and end connectors at your local hardware store. My range hood had a single live (black) wire that ran to the switches on the front panel, and two neutral (white) ones returning from the fan and light. Pass the cord through the opening in the back, strip the ends of the wires, twist the corresponding ends together, and secure them with a wire nut. Make sure the connection is secure by holding the nut and gently tugging at each wire. If any come out, remove the nut and try again.
A sealed strain-relief bulkhead should be used to pass the cord through the shroud, but I'm cheap so I made my own. The appliance end of my cord had a square strain relief where it passed through the VCR casing, but unfortunately my range hood has a round hole. I could have cut out a square hole to use instead, but I found a rubber grommet (I think it was a motor mount from a burnt-up washing machine motor) that was about the right size to use as a seal. I had to cut it open to get the cord inside it, and closed it back up with a cable tie, squeezing it snug against the cord.. To prevent it from pulling out I wrapped a second cable tie around the cord on the inside of the grommet, tight enough so that it won't easily slip but not tight enough to crush the cord. Wedge that baby in and we're just about done.
Check one last time to make sure there are no loose connections, etc. Throw in a light bulb and plug it in to test the light and fan. If everything works, go ahead and install the wiring cover (if you don't have a cover, just tuck/tie/tape them out of the way).
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