Harbor Breeze installation
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Harbor Breeze installation
Ceiling box is red, white, black, ground. I connected black to black, blue to red, white to white, greens to ground. I based it on other stuff I read and the instructions. No lights, but the fan is rocking. Switch controls the fan.
Thoughts:
Blue/red connection is loose.
Light connection between fan motor and light didn't click properly
Instructions were wrong and I need black and blue on black
I know nothing about the wiring set up and don't have proper tools to test anything. I would like the fan to stay on and just the light to turn off with the switch. All my other fans work that way, though the guy at Lowes said it wouldn't work.
Thoughts:
Blue/red connection is loose.
Light connection between fan motor and light didn't click properly
Instructions were wrong and I need black and blue on black
I know nothing about the wiring set up and don't have proper tools to test anything. I would like the fan to stay on and just the light to turn off with the switch. All my other fans work that way, though the guy at Lowes said it wouldn't work.
#2
If you have only one switch the red may not be connected. You may need to replace a simplex switch with a duplex switch or hard wire the red. If you have two switches already but one doesn't work it may need to be connected or the red hardwired.
#3
Thought:
The red wire is not connected to power.
What kind of switch do you have?
Do you have one or two switches?
In general, the salespeople at big box home centers aren't reliable sources of project information. Unfortunately.
That's OK. Turn the circuit off at the breaker. Pull the switch(es) out of the wall far enough to see all of the wires in the box, but don't disconnect anything. Tell us about each cable, each wire, and how each wire is connected.
The red wire is not connected to power.
What kind of switch do you have?
Do you have one or two switches?
the guy at Lowes said it wouldn't work
I know nothing about the wiring set up and don't have proper tools to test anything. I would like the fan to stay on and just the light to turn off with the switch.
#4
Member
Thread Starter
It's a single switch. I was worried the red wouldn't be connected to anything since it was just shoved into the ceiling with a cap on it. Hoped it would work though since it was just a light in that room and all my others work.
I'll compare it to one of my others in the morning and report back any differences in the wall switch. I'd rather not take apart the whole thing, but since the dan is controlled by the switch now, I may have to.
I'll compare it to one of my others in the morning and report back any differences in the wall switch. I'd rather not take apart the whole thing, but since the dan is controlled by the switch now, I may have to.
#5
I'd rather not take apart the whole thing, but since the dan is controlled by the switch now, I may have to.
#6
To echo Nash, as I wrote earlier:
With only a 3-conductor cable at the light then in all likelihood power is at the switch and you only need to connect black of power in to black of the three conductor and pigtail that connection to the switch along with the red, very easy.
You may need to replace a simplex switch with a duplex switch or hard wire the red.
Last edited by ray2047; 08-11-13 at 11:44 AM.
#7
With the wiring you've described so far, and the results, what you're likely to find at the switch is two black wires connected to the switch and a red wire capped off.
If so, to have
turn the circuit off, disconnect the two black wires from the switch and splice them together with a 6" to 8" black pigtail. Connect that pigtail to one of the terminals on the switch and connect the red wire to the other switch terminal.
I think this is what Ray meant to say.
If so, to have
the fan to stay on and just the light to turn off with the switch,
I think this is what Ray meant to say.

Last edited by Nashkat1; 08-11-13 at 11:37 AM.
#9
Member
Thread Starter
With the wiring you've described so far, and the results, what you're likely to find at the switch is two black wires connected to the switch and a red wire capped off.
Single switch not double. That's the set
#11
If I splice the two blacks and put the red in, will the switch turn everything off and on or will it control just the light?

Remove the two black wires from the switch.
Connect the red wire to one terminal on the switch.
Cut a 6" - 8" piece of black wire the same gauge as the black wires in the box. It's called a "pigtail". Strip about 5/8" of insulation off each end of the pigtail.
Splice the two black wires in the box and the pigtail together. Cap the splice with a wire nut. Connect the other end of the pigtail to the other terminal on the switch.
The power to the fan will be unswitched. You can control it with the pull chain. The switch will control the light.