Hi all, please help the newbie

I am installing a Hunter Grand Royal Ceiling fan, and here is what I have:

Wall Switch Plate: Switch A has black wire, Switch B has Black and RED

Junction Box on Ceiling: Red, Black, White, and Green

Fan: Black, WHite, Green


This is what I did based on what Lowe's Electrical Representative told me:

From the junction box I connected the RED and WHITE to WHITE on fan
and
Black to Black

The greens I connected to ground screw.


Well when I flip the switch with the Black wire (switch A), I get the light on, but when I flip the switch that has both Black and Red (Switch B), it trips the breaker.

I assum I should swap the wires, so that the red goes with the blacks??


Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

The wall switches are designed with the assumption of no remote control. Since you have a remote control, you will not use one of the switches (let me arbitrarily say the one with the red wire).

So leave the red wire unconnected at the ceiling. Just cap it off. Black to black and white to white can remain.

Either you misunderstood what the guy at Lowes told you, or he should be avoided at all costs. Connecting the red to white is very dangerous to both you and your equipment. This was quite ill-advised. I'm quite sure that the fan's instructions didn't mention connecting any red and white wires together.

 

Yes, you are right, about the instructions. BUT, the instructions are limited as well. The instructions for this fan indicate that a BLK/WHT wire is coming from the fan as well. And there is no such wire. I assume the remote control "do-hicky" was something the company (Hunter) added later in production, but never updated the instructions.

Yeah, I was hesitant to do what the representative told me because the original lighting fixture had the Red grouped with Blacks. So, it seemed backwards.


What is the white wire?? Can you explain to me the basics as to the purpose of each of the wires?

Thank you.

 

In Hunter fans with a remote control, Hunter inserts an extra page of instructions (not in the regular installation booklet) to cover the remote receiver installation. Look through all the paperwork to see if it got set aside with the warranty card and other junk.

Black and red wires are both switched "hot" wires. One was intended for the fan motor, and one for the fan's light. But since you have a remote control, you have one power feed that serves both, so you only need one of the wires.

It wouldn't really hurt to tie the red in with the blacks. If you did, the fan would have power if either of the two wall switches was on.

White is usually called "neutral" and is for the "return" current. Both of these terms are used very loosely.

Green and bare are grounding wires. They carry current only in the event of a fault.

When you connected the red and white wires together, you created a dead short between a hot wire and a neutral wire. When you flipped that switch, tens of thousands of amps flowed through this dead short for a fraction of a second until the breaker tripped.

 

Okay great. Thank you for the information. I didn't see any inserts for the remote control portion, but I will look again as I may have just missed it.

What doesn't make sense to me is the original light fixture had the red connected to the blacks, but only one of the switches (the one with the red and black attached) worked on the light. The swtich with only the Black wire never did anything apparent.

Maybe miswired somewhere else in the circuit?

I really appreciate your insight.

Do you think I damaged the fan or my circuit in any way??

 

For simplicity, I made a lot of assumptions and left some of your statements unchallenged. Your description of the wiring of the switches is incomplete. To fully understand this, we need a more complete description of the wiring in the switch box.

I have also assumed that there is only one wire of each color at the ceiling. If that is incorrect, then all bets are off.

 

If interested still, here is what I can see in the switch box:

Switch A - only black connected
Switch B - Black and Red connected

A bundle of white wires at the back of the box. Not sure what they are connecting to.

I will take the box apart tonight and examine closely -- I want to learn this so I better understand and not burn my house down.

More info if wasn't clear on the junciton box (ceiling) - wires coming out are Solid colors: Red, Black, White, Green.


Sorry, but because I am ignorant on the subject, I may be overlooking details that I should post.

 

If switch A had only a black wire connected to it then switch A absolutely nothing.

A switch has an input and an output. When closed the switch connects the input to the output, and current can flow. When open the input and output are unconnected.

Do you perhaps have a duplex switch (two switches in a single device)? If so then you are perhaps incorrectly interpreting the connections. A duplex switch has the input screws for the switches tied tiogether with a little tab. The tab allows one connection to provide input power to both switches. The tab can be broken off, which will electrically separate the switch inputs.

 

well it is two flip switches in one box, and I was told by the home builder that it was wired for a fan control.

When looking at it initially, I didn't see the white wires connected to any of the two switches although they are bundled there. Baffled me, but i dnt know enough to even guess.


I will post my findings tomorrow after i dissect the specimen some more

 

The description is still very imprecise.

Does "only black connected" mean that there is only one black wire connected to the switch, or that there are multiple wires connected (how many) and that they are all black in color? Where is it (are they) connected on the switch? Where does it come from? Is the other end of that black wire connected to anything else in the box? What cable does it come from? Does it come from a black/white/bare cable or a black/white/red/bare cable?

This is the level of detail required. We need to see everything that you see. We need to be able to draw out the circuit on a piece of paper with all the cables, all the wires, and all the connections.

Obviously you need to shut off the breaker before doing this kind of investigation. And you will need to pull the switches and wires out of the box (without disconnecting anything) to get a closer look.

It is normal to find the white wires not connected to the switch. But how many are there? "A bundle" is too imprecise for us to make much sense out of.

 

Absolutley understood. Taking this information, I will post more detail after further inspection.


Thank your for your patience.


"May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future"