ceiling fan: what's the black wire with the white stripe?

[willisl]

I'd like to install a used ceiling fan but am puzzled by an "extra" wire in the wires for hook-up to the house line. I know what to do with the white, black and ground wires, but what, if anything, should I do with the black wire that has a thin white stripe? The circuit into which I plan to put the fan already has a wall switch for the lamp that's currently suspended from the ceiling (I'll replace the lamp with the fan). One builder-friend suggested that I simply hook up the standard white, black and ground connections and operate the lights and fan speeds with the existing chains. The fan seems to be your typical fan: 4 blaces, 4 lights in a circle, 1 light at the bottom. Any suggestions?

Lynn Willis Indianapolis

[Wayne Whitney]

The lights and fan are independently operable. So the black wire is the fan hot, and the black with white stripe is the lighting hot. At least, that is the way my Hunter fans are coded; it is possible that some fans are the opposite.

Cheers, Wayne

[willisl]

Thanks. I take it, then, that I should connect both wires to the house hot wire, all 3 under one wire nut, correct?

Lynn

[peter]

I assume the wires have a switch? Otherwise your fan/light will be on constantly. If there is a switch, you may want to replace it with a "fan dimmer" (not a light dimmer) unless you want the fan to be full on/full off only. If you connect both black wires together, the light will always be on when the fan is.

[JimL]

Right. My fan had a blue wire and a black wire. My blue is same as your black/white wire.

[Carl]

replying to Wayne Whitney, Carl wrote: So, the black wire with the white stripe is connected to the solid black wire?

[trader_4]

It appears the black wire with white stripes is for the lights on the fan, if it has any. What color wire you connect it to depends on what color wire, if any, was run to support a light.

[Peter]

Can I cap the wire with the black and white strip

[Marilyn Manson]

I'd cap the wire with a wire nut.

I'm not sure how you would cap it with a black and white strip.

[Dean Hoffman]

Ditto the wire nut suggestion. Tug on it a little to make sure it's tight on the wire.

[Marilyn Manson]

(It wasn't actually a suggestion. It was more of a setup for my second comment.)