Assuming series or two terminal rheostat wiring. Keep that in mind and have a look at the following three examples on how to wire a potentiometer.

3ca206 Potentiometer Wiring Diagram Stereo Volume Controls
Potentiometer wiring diagram. The standard schematic symbol for a pot is shown to the left. Instructions for potentiometer wiring. For this experiment you will need a relatively low value potentiometer certainly not more than 5 kω. They have a small shaft on top that functions like a knob. As the symbol suggests a potentiometer is nothing but a resistor with one variable end. How to wire a potentiometer.
The middle pin and one of the side pins. Wiring illustration for using a potentiometer as a rheostat. The voltage supply is connected across terminals 1 and 3 positive lead to terminal one while negative lead to terminal three. The above image shows a simple circuit to dim an led. If you need a simple resistor that you can change the resistance of you only need two pins. Potentiometers or pots are a type of resistor used to control the output signal on an electronic device like a guitar amplifier or speaker.
The terminal 2 is connected to the wiper. Lets look at the 05w pot and 10k is a good value to start with for explanation. Lessons in electric circuits volume 1 chapter 2. Ohms law schematic diagram. If the maximum dissipation is 05w and the resistance is 10k then the maximum current that may flow through the entire resistance element is. In the circuit diagram shown below the terminals of the potentiometer are marked 1 2 and 3.
We have a resistive track whose complete resistance will be equal to the rated resistance value of the pot. The diagram shows the parts present inside a potentiometer.