old b/x two wire issues

[ross]

I am replacing a fan that was in our house when we bought it in 1986. It was a cheap flush mount fan that eventually burned out. Here's how it was mounted: a ceiling plate was mounted into the wood beams, with a hole drilled for the bx cable to be pulled through. I cut the power (wall switch) and removed the fan, placing wire nuts over the TWO identical colored bx wires (copper wires with light tan insulation). I'm trying to hang the new fan, but am having wiring issues.

First - there are green ground wires on the ceiling mount AND the fan itself. Then there are black and white wires on the fan.

Second - how do I hook them up? There is no electrical box, so I cannot ground the fan using the green wires. I did not mark the old wires before disconnecting the old fan...my bad.

FYI - iThere is a single switch operating the fan.

Thanks for any help in advance...

Ross

[RBM]

The first thing you need is a box, specifically a fan support box. They make a shallow box for your situation called a fan support pancake box. It's about 1/2 inch deep and should be notched into the beam flush with the surface of the beam. Your steel cable will connect to the box and thus ground it. The green wires from the fan will also attach to the box via a grounding screw. You'll need to use a tester to determine which of the two wires are hot and neutral and connect them to the fan accordingly

[Just Joshin]

No electrical box? Maybe the first step should be installing one?

tom @