I need some serious help with wiring.
#1
02-13-10, 06:27 PM
I need some serious help with wiring.
Our last ceiling fan went out and I bought a new one. My husband said he would install it... this was about 2 months ago... He got started and it the light didn't work but the fan motor did. Today the kids noticed the light flickering so I was going to finish putting it up... after connecting the wires with wire nuts it no longer worked, not the light or the fan motor. I have now taken it apart and want to start from scratch but he threw away the instructions. It is an old house and here is my setup...hanging from the ceiling there are 2 white wires, 1 black wire and one bare cooper. From the ceiling fan I have 1 white, 1 black, 1 green and 1 blue that I know is the "hot wire" for the light. So I ask is there anyone that can explain this to me? Thanks in Advance,
LandKsmom
LandKsmom
#2
02-13-10, 06:43 PM
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Will try to help.
just a couple quick questions to try and help you out.
First, do you have a voltage meter or multimeter of any sort?
If you dont thats fine i will try to help still. How many actual different wires are coming into the box. are all 4 from the same actual "wire" or are there 2.
How many switches operate this fan. Is there 2 seperate or some kind of fan/lite combo switch?
Maybe you could get a good picture of the box and post it here..
First, do you have a voltage meter or multimeter of any sort?
If you dont thats fine i will try to help still. How many actual different wires are coming into the box. are all 4 from the same actual "wire" or are there 2.
How many switches operate this fan. Is there 2 seperate or some kind of fan/lite combo switch?
Maybe you could get a good picture of the box and post it here..
#3
02-13-10, 06:53 PM
Just so we are all clear when telling us what you have use the term "wire" for a single conductor inside a cable and cable when speaking of an assembly of two or more wires in a plastic or metallic sheath. Do not include ground wires in the description. An example would be two cables each with two conductors. Your description of two whites and a black does not make sense. Two blacks and two whites would. A two conductor cable would have a black and white wire and so black and white wires usually occur in pairs. If there is two whites there should be another black hiding somewhere.
Above assumes cable not conduit.
Above assumes cable not conduit.
#4
02-13-10, 08:29 PM
You know what if you happened to read what my post stated before forget it.
Why would the lights randomly start flickering? And since they did start to mysteriously work....actually I do not fully understand this. What does it mean to "finish putting it up". Did you have the electric setup with the fan but the fan was not secured to the ceiling?
black is hot, white is neutral, bare copper is ground. You need to find out where that missing black wire is though, that's worrisome.
Ok, so you know for a fact that the blue wire is the hot for the light but you do not have the instructions? Are we positive that the blue is not some kind of speed setting wire for the fan? sorry I am a bit ignorant here, I am not a fan person.
Well, this quote here goes back to this:
What wires did you connect to one another? Do you recall?
I think getting a volt meter will be a wise purchase so you can find out for sure if the black lead in the box is indeed hot or if it's just a lead coming from a switch.
Today the kids noticed the light flickering so I was going to finish putting it up... after connecting the wires with wire nuts it no longer worked, not the light or the fan motor.
from the ceiling there are 2 white wires, 1 black wire and one bare cooper.
From the ceiling fan I have 1 white, 1 black, 1 green and 1 blue that I know is the "hot wire" for the light.
Well, this quote here goes back to this:
after connecting the wires with wire nuts it no longer worked, not the light or the fan motor.
I think getting a volt meter will be a wise purchase so you can find out for sure if the black lead in the box is indeed hot or if it's just a lead coming from a switch.
Last edited by Capslock; 02-13-10 at 08:41 PM. Reason: I didnt read the quote I was quoting
#5
02-13-10, 08:48 PM
Member
Originally Posted by Capslock
Thinking about what Ray has explained, I came up with two possible scenarios.
1-you used the black for the hot lead and the wrong white causing a short of some kind. I imagine you would have found out about this sooner though.
2-That black wire that is missing is the real hot wire and that other black/white pair is the switch to control the fan - this makes the most sense to me but now I worry about that black wires location.
I'm not a fan type person, but under any other circumstance I would expect that the black wire is the hot wire, not this blue wire you reference. .....
OH - ding - I wonder - is the blue wire the hot lead for the fan and the black wire is the hot lead for the lights? I suggest the blue wire is the hot lead for the fan as you stated that the fan worked but the lights didnt and you said you knew the blue was the hot lead.
1-you used the black for the hot lead and the wrong white causing a short of some kind. I imagine you would have found out about this sooner though.
2-That black wire that is missing is the real hot wire and that other black/white pair is the switch to control the fan - this makes the most sense to me but now I worry about that black wires location.
I'm not a fan type person, but under any other circumstance I would expect that the black wire is the hot wire, not this blue wire you reference. .....
OH - ding - I wonder - is the blue wire the hot lead for the fan and the black wire is the hot lead for the lights? I suggest the blue wire is the hot lead for the fan as you stated that the fan worked but the lights didnt and you said you knew the blue was the hot lead.
Since it's an old house, it would be fair to assume there was never more than one switch for the light that originally was hung from this ceiling box. In these cases, most people use the pull switch to turn the light off and on and then only when the wall switch/fan is turned on. The black and blue wires from the fan need to be connected together and then tied to the switched hot wire in the ceiling box. The white wire from the fan needs to be connected to the neutral in the ceiling box and the ground from the fan connects to the ground in the ceiling box. Figuring out what you now have in the ceiling box will take someone with test equipment to determine what is hot and what is neutral.
#6
02-13-10, 08:57 PM
Casualjoe,
Thanks, i did read that. I was just highlighting the fact that she gave an absolute certainty of knowledge yet the fan went from half-broke to completely broke which is why I had to question that certainty,
At any rate, I agree with casualjoes statements. I would not connect anything together until you find out where that missing black wire is though.
Just to give you a picture. I have a home built in 1904 and we just found out the ceilings were false and we had an additional 9 inches we could raise the ceiling to.
When we took the ceiling down, I found 3 strings of wire hanging out. They all had electrical tape on the ends, but none-the-less, they were still all wired into the breaker box. So, multiple hot leads resting above the ceiling, not inside a box or anything. It was very comforting to discover it and fix it rather than to discover it and forget about it.
Thanks, i did read that. I was just highlighting the fact that she gave an absolute certainty of knowledge yet the fan went from half-broke to completely broke which is why I had to question that certainty,
At any rate, I agree with casualjoes statements. I would not connect anything together until you find out where that missing black wire is though.
Just to give you a picture. I have a home built in 1904 and we just found out the ceilings were false and we had an additional 9 inches we could raise the ceiling to.
When we took the ceiling down, I found 3 strings of wire hanging out. They all had electrical tape on the ends, but none-the-less, they were still all wired into the breaker box. So, multiple hot leads resting above the ceiling, not inside a box or anything. It was very comforting to discover it and fix it rather than to discover it and forget about it.
#7
02-14-10, 07:52 PM
Forum Topic Moderator
Wires for light kits on ceiling fans are normally black with a white stripe or a blue conductor. I have never seen any other colors used.
