Single pole switch installation

[pmr717]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum, and can use a little help. I have a single wall switch that controls a ceiling light. I replaced it with a Cooper Combination Grounding Receptacle/Single Pole Switch. The problem is, when I wire it, the light switch works but
the outlet does not. There are three wires in the wall, black,white & red. Can someone tell me what Im doing wrong.

[Rewired]

ONLY 3-wires from the wall? nothing else tucked away in the back of the box??
Is there another switch that controls the same light fixture? If so you can't install the combination SW/REC because no "neutral" wire will be present there.

A.D

[HayZee518]

You say there are three wires in the switchbox. A black, red, and white? ok. take down the ceiling fixture and look to see what's inside this box. There should be a two wire cable which is your feed. Look to see which wires are connected to the hot wire of the two wire. Is the white wire of the three wire connected to anything? Has it been snipped off at the ceiling box? My guess is that they didn't have any two wire to make up the switch leg and used three wire. The black probably goes to the black hot, and the red connects to the fixture wire (black) Thw white from the line side is wirenutted to the fixture white pigtail. If the three wire white isn't doing anything and IF you can somehow pull out enough of white to make a splice you'll have your neutral.