Newly Installed Light on Ceiling Fan Doesn't Work

[jvminnick]

I just installed a lighting kit on an existing ceiling fan but it doesn't turn on. I connected the white wires together and the black wire to the blue wire per instructions. There's a light switch and a fan control dial on the wall. We use the fan control dial; I always assumed the switch was to control a light on the fan since it doesn't operate anything else in the room, but now I'm not so sure.

I have tried every combination of pulling the chain on the celing fan and flipping switches and I cannot get anything to happen. I tested the bulb and it is good. The fan seems to work fine. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks! John

[RBM]

The wire that should connect to the light is probably sitting in the ceiling box, unattached to the wire for the light kit.

[Jeff Wisnia]

Take off the switch cover plate and see what's connected to the terminals of that switch.

The original installer may have not connected the fan light leads to the switch in that box because there wasn't yet a light on the fan.

If you're lucky, all you'll have to do is learn how to connect a hot feed to one terminal of that switch and the lead which ends up as a blue wire at the fan to the other switch terminal.

If you're unlucky, the original installer won't have installed a lighting lead running from that switchbox to the fan location and you'll be sort of SOL.

Whatever, be careful if you're not facile with electric wiring.

Jeff

[DanG]

For this light to work you would need two separate switched hot leads coming into the fan/light combination at the ceiling box. One switched hot lead would run the fan, the other switched hot lead would run the light.

If this is not what you have, you should be able to use the common hot to run both the fan and the light - this is not very satisfactory as you either have a slow fan and dim light or fast fan and bright light. This would require tying the light's hot lead into the hot at the ceiling box.

If you do not follow this explanation you should have an electrician look at this.