DOH! Cant figure out this ceiling fan wiring!

[Monkey Boy]

Ok, I removed my old fan, and *thought* I drew an entire diagram of the old wiring setup. What I didnt relize until I tried wiring the new fan was I forgot to draw where the white wires were connected to on the old fan!

Here is my setup:

From the fan box in ceiling I have (2) sets of wires.

Black/White/Ground and Black/White/Ground. On the old fan, I know that one of the black wires were connected to the Blue and Black wire on the fan. I know that the other black wire was connected to the white wire on the fan. What I dont know is where the other white wires connect to :(

Any ideas where I should connect the other (2) white wires? I tried different combinations, nothing worked :(

[Toller]

Don't the fan instructions say how to wire it?

Does the fan have a light? Did the old fan have a light? Did the light and fan work on separate switches or just one switch? With the wires disconnected, does anything not work that did before? A little information would get you a better answer.

I have taken to photographing things before I disassemble them. Haven't need to refer to the pictures yet, but it is nice to know they are available.

[Monkey Boy]

Yep, I made the mistake of not taking a picture beforehand. Ive done this many times in the past, but I didnt do it this time (and im paying for it). The wiring diagram that came with the fan is a simple diagram, White on White, Black and Blue on Black.

Like I said, I have (2) sets of wires coming out of the electrical box in the ceiling. The old fan did have a light (which is what the blue wire is for) and their is only (1) switch on the wall.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, At least you need a multi-meter to sort it out. do you have one? My guess is one set of wire is from the switch and the other is line side(power source).

[Monkey Boy]

Yep, I have a multimeter. What would be the best way to test the wires with it?

[Toller]

90% chance you connect the two blacks to the blue and black, and all the whites together. That is making the assumption that the 2nd set of wires feeds something else, but you would know that if you checked to see if anything wasn't working with the wires disconnected.

I can't imagine what else it could be, but will say that there is a 10% chance you have something squirrelly.

If you have a voltage detector you should test the two blacks just to be sure they aren't both hot; make sure you try with any reasonable switches in both positions. They shouldn't both be hot if you had a connected fan/light, but it is prudent to be sure. If you don't have a voltage detector, get one immediately. You should never touch a wire without testing it for voltage first; especially on a ladder. The shock is probably harmless, but the fall might not be.

[JimL]

White wires are the return or common wires. They always ALL connect together. Hot wires on Fans are Black or Blue and sometimes RED. Green wires go to chassis ground.

The white wire on the fan MUST connect to the white wire in the ceiling.

[Rudy]

You have only one switch so the fan is switched but the light is not (you have to use the chain on the fan for the light) Connect the two black together along with the blue and the black from the fan using a wirenut Connect two white wires with the white from the fan with a wirenut. Connect the 2 ground wires by twisting them together, twist them around the ground screw in the ceiling box, then and wirenut them to the fan ground wire.

That should do it.

[RBM]

Your lack of clarity makes this difficult. Given your setup, it sounds like the wall switch either controlled the fan or the light, and the other was controlled by pull chain. In your ceiling box you have two cables, one is feed and the other goes to the wall switch. With a meter find out which is the feed cable, then connect the white from that cable to the white of the fan. Connect the black from the feed cable to the white from the switch cable and to the black from the fan. Connect the last black from the switch cable to the blue from the fan. Connect any ground wires together. Now the wall switch will control the light and the pull chain will control the fan. If you want it controlled opposite, reverse the blue and black fan wire positions

[Toller]

If nothing else is off because the fan is disconnected, then RBM's explanation might be correct. But you won't know unless you find out if anything else is off.

[sym]

with what you state it sounds like the two whites get hooked to each other and not directly to fan sounds like nuetrals were switched the old timerr way of doing things