Ceiling Fan Troubles

[Rick_B]

Back story - hampton bay ceiling fan - 3 speed with light kit. Light and fan operated by separate wall switches. Fan stopped working but light was working OK. I noticed the fan pull chain switch was loose so I tightened it up and then fan worked. As part of a remodel I replaced the toggle wall switch with a 3 speed switch. Fan not working now but lights are OK.

There is power to the switch box. Wall switch shows continuity through switch. There is power at the ceiling when the fan wall switch is on the high stting. I think that narrows it down to the fan pull chain switch or the fan motor. I pulled the light kit off and have access to the fan switch wiring.

Where do I go from here - I'd like to verify that the 3 speed pull chain switch is OK but not sure how. If that is OK then I need to check the fan motor.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you may have.
Rick

 

[Gotcha6]

The pull chain speed control actually just re-routes the power from one set of inputs to the fan to another, a function you cannot achieve with a wall switch without knowing which way to toggle the switch on the fan, or to even bypass the switch on the fan altogether. There's also the issue of compatibility between the wall speed control and the fan circuitry. IIRC, my dad had one like this with a wall speed control but it was bought with the fan.

 

[HITCH-]

If the fan quit working when you put in the 3 way wall switch, then I would bypass that switch and see if the 3 speed pull chain switch works to control the fan

 

[tvrgeek]

The pull chain selects the correct run cap. If you use a three speed wall switch, leave the fan pull chain in high. ( actually I leave mine on medium so I can get a really low speed which modern fans don't do because they ae less efficient and the green policed says I can't have a slow simple circulator)

Sounds like a lose connection in the fan junction box. Do what Hitch says to isolate the problem.

 

[Rick_B]

My understanding is that these 3 speed wall switches are compatible with any mechanically switch (pull chain) fan. The pull chain switch sends a signal through a capacitor which adjust the resistance (I think) to the motor which, in turn, adjusts the speed. When you install a wall switch, the pull chain switch is left on high. The wall switch does the resistance adjustment. So I don't think there is a question of will it work.

The fan stopped working prior to the installation of the new wall switch. Then it started working again. After installing the wall switch it did not work.

I did some trouble shooting today. I took the pull chain switch out and hard wired the fan and wall switch. The fan worked on medium and low speeds when I wired to the high speed pull chain wire wire but high speed dod not work. I also checked the voltage the wall switch was putting out - 121 on medium and low speeds. the high speed setting showed a very uncontrolled voltage - 160 to 85. Finally I hard wired the fan to a standard toggle switch without the pull chain switch. I used each of the three pull chain wires and all speeds operated normally.

This verified that the motor and capacitor were functioning correctly. I think there are two problems - the wall switch is defective and the pull chain switch may also be defective. I returned the wall switch for a replacement and ordered a new chain pull switch. More to come.

Rick

 

[Rick_B]

The replacement 3speed wall switch arrived from Amazon today.I immediately noticed that it was not as sticky/difficult to move through the speed settings. I wired it up and checked voltage through each speed setting - they were all consistent at 122 to 123 volts. The old switch had a very erratic voltage at the high speed setting. Then I hot wired the fan to the high speed wire/capacitor - all speeds worked as expected. I ordered a new pull chain switch because I wsn't sure i had reassembled the old one correctly. I know I could just bypass that switch but would like to have it for completeness. More to come.
Rick

 

[Rick_B]

To bring this full circle - the new pull chain switch arrived and I got it installed. All worked as expected so I think that I did originally have a bad pull chain switch and, coincidentally, a bad 3 speed wall switch. The fan is working fine - at least for now.