Ceiling Fan Wiring Question

[Ron]

My mom has a ceiling fan with a light kit. When the wall switch (single toggle) is in the on (up) position the fan will run and when the switch is in the off position (down) the fan stops running. OK, that is normal.

Here is the problem, the light will only turn on and off using the chain, and it doesn't matter if the wall switch is in the on or off position. Wall switch up, light turns on and off with chain. Wall switch down, light turns on and off with chain. What is going on here?

BTW, this isn't a new problem. She bought the house 6 years ago and it has just now been brought to my attention.

[FrozenNorth]

You have two hots and a neutral in the ceiling box, one hot is switched and is going to the fan, the unswitched hot is going to the lights. I would reverse that so the light switch controls the light, then control the fan from the chains, but that is a personal preference.

[clare]

The wouse was wired for just a light, with a "drop switch" setup.. Power and neutral go to the ceiling box - neutral fastened to the light, power carried down to the switch and back up to the light. When the fan was installed. the fan was wired in place of the light, and the light was connected across the power and neutral in the box. More common is to connect the light to the wall switch and the fan to the live so the fan runs on the pullchain, switch off or on - and the light is controlled by the wall switch. Just need to switch 2 wires at the fan/light.

[Don Y]

The "fixture" looks like a fan and a light. So, two "supply" wires (line) and one "return" (neutral) wire.

This allows you to install a speed control for the fan *and/or* a dimmer for the light. Had the two "supply" wires been tied together *in* the fixture (i.e., so the fixture just had one hot and one neutral), you could use the switches (pull chain, etc.) to control the fan and/or light, but couldn't use a dimmer or speed control (because you couldn't "supply" just the fan or just the light from that REMOTELY located control/switch).

How do you *want* the fan/light to behave? Within reason, you can change this behavior (e.g., so both turn off with the switch; add a second switch for REMOTE control of each function independantly, etc.)

[Ron]

OK I'll pull down the cover and look at it. I'm pretty sure every ceiling fan I've every installed in place of a light fixture only had black (hot) and a white (neutral) wire. What is the purpose of an unswitched hot?

[Micky]

How does your mother want it to work.

Bear in mind, when the fan runs and no one is in the room, it doesn't make the room cooler. It makes it warmer. The fan gives off a little heat and moving air is equivalent to heat, plus it blows the warm air near the ceiling down to where the people are. Not that fans are bad -- most people like them -- but they don't help when you're not in the room and you might want to turn the fan and the light off then.

[Seymore4Head]

You need to decide if you have a reason to leave the fan on when the light is off.

It is nice that you have a choice of hot and also a switched conductor in the box, but you could put both on the switched so nothing is on when you turn off the switch.

[clare]

The only "hot" in the box is unswitched, bur it is then "dropped" to the switch, which returns the power on the white wire, which is supposed to be marked with black tape to indicate it is "live". You will find one cable (romex) coming in that is live at all times, and the black from it will be connected to the black of a second cable that goes to the switch. The light is also connected to that black wire, and the fan is connected to the white that returns frm the switch (the switched "live". Both share the neutral of the "feed" cable. Switch the wires for the line side of the fan and light, the light will work on the switch, and the fan will work only with it's pull-chain.

Another option is you MAY have a 3 wire coming through the switch box (extremely unlikely) with the black switched and the red run straight through. Possible, but EXTREMELY unlikely. Again, switching the feeds on the light and fan(reversing them) will have the same effect.

[clare]

The fan still moves the air and keeps the temperature more even from floor to ceiling. The amount of "heat" added to the room by the fan is a virtual non issue.

[clare]

In our kitchen we often want the fan running in the daytime when we most certainly do NOT need the lights on.

In a bedroom the same is true. You may very well want the fan running all night, but certainly don't want the lights on.

Same in a living room.

[Seymore4Head]

Since the controls for the fan and the light are on the fan itself, you can also have the choice of leaving either one on without the other.

[Ron]

Exactly. I live in Florida and the ceiling fans run almost all of the time.

I read your other posts. Thanks for the help. I'm visiting her right now and I will take a look at it tomorrow.

[clare]

Yes you can, but what are wall switches made for? Convenience. You set it up to be the most convenient you can.

[Micky]

Why does that matter if no one is in the room?

(I don't even know why it matters when people are in the room.)

[clare]

Did someone say something about a nitwit?

[bob haller]

you can buy a emote control for that fan light combo, so you can do either whenever you want

[trader_4]

One reason is so that the wall switch works the fan and the pull chain works the light, just like you have.

[trader_4]

A lot of jibberish about wires, colors, which way it's wired, etc, when no one knows what he actually has there.

[Stormin Mormon]

Once in a while, an obvious typo is funny. "emote control" is one such.

Hey, quit pushing my buttons! You know how worked up that makes me! I said stop!

[Ron]

Here is a pic of the wiring. I just need to hook up the blue wire to the black wire in order for the fan and the light to work from the wall switch, correct?