Hello, I bought on of B&Q's ceiling fans with three lights. I've wired it in exactly as per the instructions, but am disappinted to find that I now cannot switch the lights on and off using the wall switch; you have to use the pull-chord on the fan/light itself. This means you have to stumble across a darkened room, groping around for the pull-chord,
Is it easy to wire the fan/light in an alternative way so that the lights come on via the wall switch? Thanks for any help.
Jim
On 20/12/2003 "Jim" opined:-
It sounds as if you might of connected wrongly, or perhaps misinterpreted the instructions....
In a modern ceiling rose there will be three separate connections, plus a ground (marked green/yellow). The three connections will be live (red), nuetral (black) and what is called a switch wire (should be red, but might well be a black wire).
Assuming you have only one ceiling light in the room, the switch wire can be identified by the fact that it will be one single wire by itself in a connector. A single connector being a strip of brass with several terminals.
Further confirmation of the switch wire can be had by use of a neon screw driver. The neon will light, only when the switch is turned on. I think (not certain) that the switch wire connection will be the middle section of the connections.
Your original flex down to the lamp holder will have been connected between the switch wire connection and the nuetral connection. Your new light/fan should be connected across the same two connections. Brown to switch wire terminal, blue to to the nuetral terminal and green/yellow to green/yellow.
could you just leave the pull on /off switch on and use the lightswitch instead?
I've modified a numberof these type of fans to get around this problem. In the ceiling rose you will fins an unswitched live connection. Coonect this to a new wire which you thne feed down the central tube and connect to the live in side of the pull switch for the fan. Connect the switched live from the rose to the pull switch for the lights or direct to the light fittings if you dont need an on off function for the lights at the fan end. You will then be able to use the fan irrespective of the lighting and operate the lights from the wall switch.
hth Bob
No - the wall switch has no effect, regardless of whether the light switch at the fan is on or off.
Jim
Many thanks for the help on this. I will take a good look at it after the weekend..
Happy Xmas (and to Harry: thanks for the help)
Jim
In article , Jim writes
You've connected it up wrong then.
Jim scribbled :
It sounds like you have connected the fan and light switch wires to the permanent live (found in the middle set of terminals in a ceiling rose). You need to connect these to the switched live. Ideally you need to change the switch wire (the one form the existing ceiling rose to the switch) to a
3 core and earth, that way you get 2 switch wires to play with so you can separate the fan and fan light cables and switch independently.
Gary, that certainly sounds logical. I bet that's what I did wrong. Will have a look this week - thank you
Merry Xmas
Jim
That's exactly what I do. Mine sounds like an identical type of fan, combine light/fan thing. I have one pull cord for the fan, one pull cord for the lights. Unless I'm actually using the fan in the summer, I leave it on at the fan for light only, and turn that on and off at the light switch on the wall.
Velvet
Gary, That was indeed the problem. It was simple to put right.
Thank you!
Jim scribbled :
Anytime Jim, have a great Christmas!
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