Ceiling fan/light not working after new light switch install

Hi - I just installed a new light switch on my ceiling fan, and neither the fan nor the light will work. Fortunately, I can say for sure that there isn't a problem with the breaker (another fixture on the same one works fine), but otherwise, I'm at a complete loss. The only point that differs from the original setup is that I have wire nuts connecting the new switch's wires (black) to the wires that ran directly into the old switch (blue). I can't see why this would be a problem, though.

To reiterate, the entire fixture (fan and light) does nothing, even though I've only replaced the light switch. And, when I talk about the switch, I'm referring solely to the pull switch on the fan, NOT the wall switch.

Solutions?

Thanks!
John

 

Welcome to the forums!

Likely a wire came loose on the new switch or the switch is bad. Pull out the switch and inspect the wiring. If that looks ok, temporally bypass the switch by connecting the wires in the box together. If the light comes on, you have a bad switch.

 

Thanks!

Great suggestion, I'll try it right away. My only question is, would a problem with the light pull switch make the fan not work, too?

 

OK, I tried that, but there's still no light or movement of the fan blades.

 

You're going to need to check for actual power at the fan..... or at the wall switch. You will need to check from black (or hot) to neutral to make sure you haven't lost a neutral.

 

Thanks. When you say from black to neutral, what exactly do you mean? Is that the order I should check?

 

Open the wall switch and check from the hot wire to the white wire. You can check from hot to ground to verify 120vac but you still need to make sure your neutral is present.

One of your meter or tester probes touching black/hot and the other tester probe touching white. A non contact tester pen will not work here.

 

In other words use a multimeter, preferably analog (or test light or solenoid tester). Do mot waste your time testing with a non contact tester. It wont give useful information.

 

Since you need to check at the fan switch under the canopy you can check for incoming power there also.

 

Did you happen to check the circuit breaker to see if it is tripped/off?

 

Well, I installed the same part in another fan/light in the house just fine, so I decided to take everything back apart and try again. It turns out that the unit itself had come disconnected from the wires in the ceiling...an hour and a half later, everything works.

Thanks, everyone!

 

Good troubleshooting. Thanks for letting us know what you found was the cause.