Help with ceiling fan wiring, PLEASE

[felix]

In the home I just purchased two of the rooms that have ceiling fans that CANNOT be controlled by the wall switch, just the pull cable. Neither fan has a light fixture on it and both rooms have two wall switches one wall switch does nothing; the other controls an outlet on the wall (Switched outlet). The wires that I find going to the ceiling fans are: Red (Hooked to the blue wire of the fan), White (Hooked to the white wire of the fan) Black (Hooked to the black wire of the fan) and bare (going to the green wire on the fan).

The walls switches are all wired the same with a red, black, and bare wire.

So my question is:

1- How do I get the switch to control the ceiling fan?

[David Gale]

Have you tried to trace where the wires are going? It sounds like the fan wire is going to a different switch than you're expecting, or straight to the breaker box. And, of course, tracing the wires from the switches would tell you what they ought to be controlling.

If the switch you want to use isn't connected to anything, and the fan goes straight to the breaker box, you'll need to do some re-wiring to connect the fan to the switch. If the switch is connected to the fan, but doesn't control it, then I'd guess the black and red wires are reversed. (However, I'm confused: you said the fans don't have light fixtures, in which case, they'd only need a single hot (black, blue, or red wire), but you indicated that they have two hot lines. This sounds like a fan and a light combination.)

In either case, I'd strongly consider having an electrician at minimum look it over--it's quite possible that he'd notice something you're missing.

-David

NB: I am not an electrician, though I am currently doing a lot of wiring work in my home; I'm fairly confident I know what I'm talking about, but I don't have a degree/license to back that up, so please take my comments accordingly.

[David Efflandt]

Read your fan instructions and think about it. Black in the ceiling is likely always hot (in case fan has wireless remote), white is typically neutral, bare or green is earth ground. Any other color is something else.

I imagine in the fan, black is fan and blue is for optional (non-existing) light kit. So what you did was connect hot to fan and switched wire to nothing (why wall switch does nothing). I usually wire the black and blue fan wires to the switched ceiling wire, so the wall switch will turn on fan or light (whatever is set with pull chains).

But if you do not know how to read directions or check wiring with a meter, you should really hire an electrician. Otherwise you may fry yourself and/or fall.

[felix]

Thank you David, you were 100 %correct. What I have discovered (Mind you I did not originally wire it, it was pre-existing when I purchased the home and I was just wondering why the switch did nothing) is that the Black wire is "ALWAYS HOT" (connect to the fans black wire), The red is "SWITCHED" (connected to the blue wire of where the light would be) thus the reasoning for a non working switch. I did go ahead and connect a lighting fixture and Walla, the switch controls it. Thank for your help as it was driving me crazy.

Felix

[Playintennis5274]

nobodyin there right mind is going to wire a fan to the breaker box. .just see what items are on that circuit so u don't o-load it, then get up in the attic ands locate the wires for the active sw. (controls sw. outlet) and find where the hell the wires go for the inactive . if there not hooked to anything then tie em in at th e box w/ active sw.