simple ceiling fan question

good morning, everyone...

i just discovered this incredibly useful board and have a what i feel like is a simple electrical question. i am putting up a ceiling fan that i was given (no directions included) and i am in the middle of installing it.

i have an existing light connection that i have taken apart and have found that there are two black wires from the ceiling and a white wire, black wire, and a brown wire coming from the ceiling fan. i am not planning to have a light kit on the fan, just want the fan connected. i have attic access and have installed the brace and all thats left is the electrical work, so in an effort to avoid any flying sparks, i am wanting to know exactly what wires to hook up and which ones to cap and leave alone.

thanks in advance for your replies, and please excuse the relatively elementary question...

 

If both wires coming from the ceiling are black, your first task is to determine which one is hot. If you hadn't already disconnected the light, you may have been able to simply mark which one was connected to the black wire of the light. But if the light is gone, you need a $15 tick tester that can tell you which wire is hot.

Next, you need to pull out the installation instructions for the ceiling fan. Most likely the brown wire is for the non-existant light kit, but you should confirm this with the installation instructions.

You didn't mention any bare or green grounding wires. Do you have any from either the ceiling or the fan?

 

unfortunately, since the fan was a hand me down from my parents house, they weren't able to find the instructions that came with the fan. there is a green wire that is coming from the fan extension rod, but i was assuming (guessing) that it was for the light fixture. thanks for your quick reply...

 

In that case, I'd take this approach. Use the tick tester to figure out which wire in the ceiling is hot. Connect this to the black wire from your fan. Connect the fan's white wire to the other wire from the ceiling. Connect the green wire to the fan's mounting bracket (there's usually a screw on it).

If the fan doesn't work, then try connecting the brown fan wire instead of the black fan wire.

A green or bare wire is never, ever, anything but ground (in the U.S.).

 

thanks john...you have been a big help. the brown wire was indeed the light wire and everything else worked out perfectly.
thanks again.....