It's likely the electrician that wired for the fan, ran three wires from the fan box to the switch box, where you might install a fan speed control and a dimmer. Since you are using a remote device, you only need one feed to the fan. The red and white is fine or you could have used the black and white as well.
Fan Installation
Aug 30, 2005
5 Replies
Hope this helps, Chuck:
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Cin
I am installating a fan in the bedroom. Room is wired for a fan. I opened cover in ceiling to expose the wiring. There are 3 wires to choose from. White, Black and Red. The black and red have caps on the ends. The white wire is just rolled up with no cap. The instructions say to connect the remote control to the Red and White wires. What is the Black wire and why is it capped? I used the White and Red and the fan seems to be wired correctly and the light kit works. The remote also works. Do I need the Black wire or do I just recap it and put it back in the outlet box? TIA Chuck B.
Some fans have lights on them, and oftentimes electricians put in two switches. One for FAN, the other for LIGHTS. Either you have 2 switches, or the wires were run to allow for adding another switch in the future.
If I am understanding you, the white wire had no wirenut (cap). This is bad. ALL wires being joined MUST have wirenuts. Where I live, some of the electricians dont put wirenuts on the bare (ground( wires. They just twist them. I totally disagree with this. For the couple pennies they cost, use them on ALL wires,
Mark
I think you misunderstood. He just had wires in the fan box for a future fan and the electrician put caps on the two "hot" wires for safety. As far as your ground wires without caps, if you look carefully you'll probably see copper crimps on the wires, which,for ground wires serve the same purpose as a wirenut
Thanks to all for your help. Fan is up and working properly. Used white and red wires and wirenutted the black. What had me fooled was the light. It was just barely glowing so I figured I had it wired wrong. Then I noticed the remote has a dimmer built in for the light. Used that and the light came on strong. Thanks again!!! Chuck B.
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