Hi,
Have a ceiling fan controlled by the wall switch but no light originally fitted. Got an add on light unit. Unscrewed bottom circular panel of ceiling fan and found two unused wires, white and black. New light fixture has two wires, white and black, connected through an additional pull switch. Connected up white/white and black/black but the light still will not work. Identical situation in another room. Any suggestions where to look? Thanks.
When the fan was hung, the person probably didn't wire the fan for the light.
You have two choices, but first the situation. You found two wires in the bottom of the fan, but there are three wires in the top. The fan is wired across the white wire and the third wire (probable red, but may be blue). You correctly connected the light across the white and black wires. The problem is no power is connected to the black wire. You need to get power to the black wire.
You can just connect the black wire to the red (or blue), but this will require using the built-in switches on the fan.
You can buy a remote control for the fan, but this requires more work.
Turn off the fan before you start, or better yet pull the circuit breaker. A test light to check for power before touching wires is a good idea too. If the light lights when connected between a green or bare copper wire and the wire in question then don't touch the wire. If the green or bare wires are not connected together then then you can use any white wires that are connected together (ie do not use black to white or red to white).
The wires you need to get to are between the top part of the fan and the ceiling. Its not hard to take this apart, just be sure the fan is supported as the this is how the fan is kept up. Remove the light first to reduce the weight and size.
For the first option and the black wire to the wirenut that already has a black and the unknown color wire and then put everything back together.
For the second option the remote control receiver should be able to fit within the top of the fan. There will be a black and white wire coming down from the ceiling that supplies power to the remote receiver. There will also be a black, white, and unknow color wire from your fan. You already know that the black wire is for the lights. Wire according to the directions for the control. In addition, there will be bare copper or green wires that all get connected together unless you have an old house.
If you remember that white only goes to white, that bare wire and green only go to bare copper and green, and there are no three-way switches you shouldn't make a mistake. If there is a three way switch that controls this fan you can make a mistake following these rules, my assumption about a black and a white wire supplying power may not be correct. In this case, note the wire colors and ask for more help.
Richard Kaiser
Most likely the wires for the light were not connected when the fan was originally installed. If so, you will need to lower the fan from the ceiling and connect the black & white light wires to the supply black and white wires.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.