Hello,

I have an old (mid 90's) cast iron housing Hunter ceiling fan, model 23855. I am pretty sure the capacitor is bad as it will hum as if it is energized, but not spin the blades. The blades spin easily by hand. I suspect that the capacitor is located inside the fan motor housing on top of the coil/rotor as it is nowhere else to be found! It is not in the area with the switch and pull chain, nor in the top canopy cover where it attaches to the junction box/power.

Please, can anyone give me any guidance? I am willing to tackle disassembly, but I don't know how to remove the rotor? stator coil? Many thanks!

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

On oldie but goodie. In most fans the cap(s) are near the reversing switch or pull chain. On your fan they are in the actual motor housing. I don't actually know how it comes apart but if it's like most fans there should be four screws on the top side of the motor housing. You may have to remove it from the ceiling to split the case. Be careful.... your fan may have oil in it that will spill.

I'm pretty sure your fan uses the older style oil filled caps which you may have to hunt around for.

FYI: Hunter technical support - 1-888-830-1326 if you can't locate caps

Link to your Hunter fan - owners manual

 

The owner's manual appears to show the capacitor inside the switch housing. I'm guessing you've already looked there?

I might try replacing the switch first, if only because it's easy and inexpensive.

If you need to get into the motor, you will have to take the fan down and set it on a sturdy support that is large enough to accept the switch housing and small enough that you have access to the the four cap nuts you should see spaced evenly around the outside of the motor housing. Those are on the ends of the four through-bolts that hold the motor housing together.

You'll need to remove the blades and the light kit before taking the fan down. Be as careful as you can to try to not spill any of the lubricating oil as you take it down. You will have to clean it out of the motor if you do.

 

Yes, the capacitor should be in the switch housing. Sometimes it is stuck up in the canopy for convenience, to keep the switch housing clear.

I take it this fan was running before???

If you can't find the capacitor, there must be some unused wires somewhere?

There's really no way... or reason... that the capacitor could be IN the motor housing. These aren't "spinner" motors with a cosmetic housing.

 

Ok, no, I talked to my guy. It is under a zip tie IN THE MOTOR HOUSING. That's why I don't mess with them....

 

Guys,

I don't know how to thank you all for the excellent advice and your taking the time to reply. This will be the second time for me to take it down. It is one heavy sob. I installed it by myself also - good thing I've been going to the gym I'm sure I am exceeding the duty rating on my ladder!

I saw the zip tie on top of the housing the other day when I had it down to blow it out and look to see if anything obvious was wrong with it. I'll have to look at it closer to see how it comes apart, but the other day I couldn't see anything obvious unless the fasteners are accessed through the vents on top of the fan housing perhaps? Nick D, would your "guy" know how to crack it open?

Thanks again for everything. I owe you all an adult beverage of your choice.

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

Let me make one last plug - do NOT take apart the motor to get at the capacitor. Check the wiring for the reverse switch first, it may be loose.

 

Nick,

I will check it and report back. Hope to do it tonight, weather permitting.

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

Is this fan outdoors?

Before you take it down (if working on the switch wiring doesn't lead you to a fix), if you post some pictures of the housing that will help us take a look with you. See How To Put Pictures In Your Post.

The advice I gave you about the four cap screws was based on taking a look at one of the two Hunters spinning here. I'll look at the other one when I get upstairs tonight. My lovely weighs-a-ton, cast-iron-housing, has-to-be-oiled four-blade Hunter stayed with the old house when I sold it.

 

Nashkat1,

Yes, the fan is outdoors under a covered patio. I have 2 identical fans hung there, but am only having problems with one of them. We had some severe storms pass through last night, so I did not have the opportunity to check the reverse switch connections.

Certainly I can take some pictures and will include them with my next post. Thanks again for everyone's help and interest.

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

Ok, here are a couple of images. The reverse switch connections were good as were the speed/chain switch. The capacitor I believe is in the upper housing above the rotor attached via that weird looking zip tie. I could reach through the large triangle shaped openings and feel a rectangular box, which I assume is the capacitor. I am wondering if I could clip the zip tie and feed the capacitor up through the triangular opening to replace without disassembly? The question is how much slack is available attached to the capacitor? Any ideas?

Attachment 11737

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

i don't think you're going to get away that easy

I'm pretty sure you're going to have to open the motor housing up. Based on your pictures the bottom must come off since the top is all one piece.

 

Nice pictures. Thanks. They don't show any bolts that hold the housing together, though.

How did you test them?

Probably all you could need, once you tie some twine onto the other end of the wires, at the top of the downrod or in the switch housing and start pulling. But I don't know if you can get it out through one of the ventilation openings.

I'm reasonably certain that that's not how the folks at the Hunter factory installed it, and I'll bet it's held in place somehow. The zip tie appears to only secure the wires.

Are there any bolts into the bottom of the housing? Does it have a seam?

[SUP]PJ types faster than I do. [/SUP]

 

It is hard to see in the picture of the upper housing, however there is a unique looking zip tie approximately at the one o'clock position in relation to where the bundle of wires enter the upper housing. This is where the capacitor ( or a rectangular shaped box resembling a capacitor) resides. Looking at the image below you can see it in the upper right and what looks like the capacitor through the hole.

As far as testing the switches I didn't check them with a meter, just by feeling the motor energize/hum while cycling them.

When I had the fan down, I could remove the lower metal plate that connects to the upper iron housing and view the stator, but could not see how to remove it from a cursory look.

Regards,

Frank

 

Yes, that's visible in this photo. Let's say you clip that cable tie, and that you can get the capacitor to back out through one of the openings. Then what? How are you going to get the wiring to feed through to get it out far enough to replace it? Have you found a replacement?

You need to stick a meter on everything.

If you're going to replace the cap, you're probably going to have to reverse what was done in the factory and then replicate it.

 

How are you going to get the wiring to feed through to get it out far enough to replace it?

I won't know until I try. Splice additional wire to allow manipulation? Mount replacement on top of housing? What benefit is it for capacitor to reside within housing other than cosmetic? Lots of unknown.

Bottom line is my Hunter service center is in Memphis, 1.75 hours away, only open on Mondays from 10 am to 6 pm = 2 trips? Fan is broken, what have I got to lose?

Again, thanks everyone for your help. Any advice before I proceed will be appreciated.

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

Memphis is Hunter's HQ. If I lived that close, I'd be there in a heartbeat!

If you do take it there, you need to keep it upright all the way, because of the oil in it. In fact, you need to keep it upright at all times, Including when you're working on it, to keep the oil in the right place.

In fact, I'm starting to wonder if some oil might have gotten on the motor...

 

Unfortunately the headquarters does not accept warranty/repair work. They have authorized service centers in MEM. I don't know how oil would have gotten into the motor unless Newton is wrong. In all seriousness though, if oil did somehow get into the motor, how would that effect the magnetic field that spins the stator? I'm not trying to be a smart*ss, just trying to gain some knowledge. Thanks!

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

I don't either, on yours. I know it could, and did, on my Hunter Original, when I wasn't as careful as I would like to have been as I was relocating it from one room to another. Two things resulted from that. One was that the fan was technically out of warranty - lifetime warranty! The other was that although the old gal was still running well when I sold the house 15 years later, she was never as deathly silent or smooth after that. At least it seemed that way.

IDK. I'm just saying that my experience of it did not make my day more wonderful.

 

I left a link to the manual for your fan. Did you look at it ?

When that fan was new it came with a bottle of oil that was poured into the unit. There is a well that contains that oil. The motor shaft has a spiral cut in it and runs thru that well. As the motor spins that spiral carries oil to the bearings.

 

The zip tie actually does hold the capacitor.

Other than the task of completely disassembling the fan to get to the capacitor (yes, that is the only option), a special tool is required to remove the leads from the molex plugs.

Everything comes out the "bottom", after removing the cover plate of the fan... the upper housing is one piece of cast iron.

 

Yes,

Thank you very much PJmax. I have it saved on my computer for future reference. Appreciate it!

 

NickD,

Thanks bud. Wonder why Hunter made this particular model of fan so hard to service? Special tool to disconnect the plug? That p*sses me off. Good info, appreciate you and everyone else helping me out. I still may tackle it. I'll post the outcome and take some pictures if I do. Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Regards,

Pantherburn

 

The one that's visible in the second picture does. The one I was referring to, which is the only one really visible in the first picture, only secures the wires.

 

Hi,
Although your thread is a year old , may be you can help me.
I have the same problem, same fan, impossible to find the cap, I suspect it located in the rotor casing , maintained with a plastic tie.
Did you find it, any Idea if it is a 2, 3, 4, or 5 wire capacitor.
I don't want to take this 40 pound crap off from the ceiling, to dismantle it before I have the new cap under the hand.
I know me and know if I dismantle it , then look for a replacement, 3 to 4 days to get it shipped, then no time for that and the fan will be still in piece on my table in the patio in six month........

 

Hey,

I took it to a factory authorized repair/service center in Memphis. They ended up swapping for a new one under the factory warranty + some cash ($70 I think). Whole new fan assembly in box- blades, mounting kit, etc...

Regards,

Frank

 

Do you have a name and number to the factory authorized repair/service center in Memphis that you used? I have the same issue and would like to see if I can get mine repaired - it is even older a 22308.

 

Here is the address and phone number for Hunter. Check with them They should be able to point you towards an authorized repair shop.
Address: 7130 Goodlett Farms Pkwy #400, Memphis, TN 38016



Phone901) 743-1360

 

i know this is an super old post - but bc i'm sure that there are others out there who've struggled like i have to find that dadburn capacitor in the Hunter fan housing - i'm going to share what i have been dealing with.<br />
<br />
i have the Hunter Ceiling Fan 23855 - it's a few years old - like 12. (NOTE::: until i bought Hunter fans, i had never eeeeeeever had any issues with my ceiling fans - much less have to work on them. Just sayin')<br />
<br />
anyway - for me - this is what i had to do to get to the capaciTORS - yes - there's TWO!!!<br />
<br />
remove blades<br />
remove cast iron housing<br />
remove interior metal ring<br />
see exposed capacitors<br />
<br /><br />
my fan had 8 screws holding the cast iron in place<br />
then 4 more screws holding the interior metal ring.<br />
(no pic of metal ring in place - sorry)