Impossible-to-replace ceiling fan control?


  #1  
Old 09-04-01, 11:35 AM
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I need to replace a broken ceiling fan control made by Homestar ("Homest*r"). It's controlling a Homestead fan. There is only one 3-wire cable from the fan to the control box. The odd thing is, the old control was able to dim the fan lights and operate the fan motor independently (i.e., we never had to touch the pull-cords to operate the fan and lights). How is that possible, and is it replaceable? The control has 4 wires coming out of it: 2 of them are attached to each other only, one goes to the power (black), and one goes to the fan (brown). The switch has a main on/off switch, an up/down light control, a 3-step fan control, and a program/reverse switch (which has seemingly never worked since we inherited it). We have no paperwork for it. Is it possible to recreate the functionality of this without running a second cable or using a remote control?

Thanks!
Daren
 
  #2  
Old 09-04-01, 03:42 PM
J
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Define "3-wire cable". Do you mean red/black/white with ground, or black/white with ground?

I know nothing about Homest*r, but if you only have black/white with ground, then the controller must be sending an electronic signal over the wires. We know that it's possible to send communication signals over power lines. Various power companies have even talked about offering phone or internet service over your power lines. Don't know if anybody's done it yet. You can also buy home network systems that run over your power lines, although they aren't too popular.

If you can't find replacement parts, your next best approach may be to buy a new fan, one with a remote control.

The Casablanca service center web site lists the Homestar as non-repairable.

American Homestar Corporation, a maker of manufactured homes, seems to have filed for bankrupcy just a week ago. Don't see any relationship to fans, but they do use a star in the place of the "a" in their name.

But the big news is that this forum seems to be fixed!!! Halleluyah!
 
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Old 09-05-01, 02:12 AM
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Correct, it's black/white/ground. Thanks for the (albeit disappointing) info.

Daren
 
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Old 09-05-01, 10:09 AM
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FWIW, I have two Casablanca ceiling fans (bought and installed last year) that work similarly - they send electronic control signals to tell the fan and/or light to turn on, slow/dim, speed-up/brighten, reverse, etc. Only a single 2 wire w/ground is needed from the control to the fan. My guess is that the electronic control signals sent to the fan cause relays in the fan to turn the motor and/or lights on and off. (Note that these are pretty expensive fans.)

That said, it is unlikely that one of the Casablanca fan controls will work with your fan (the control protocol is probably different).

You may want to look at http://www.eceilingfans.com , they claim to carry replacement parts for Homestead fans. If you click on their "Wall Switches" link, you will see the control to my fans under "W32".
 
 

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