Ceiling Fan Light Wiring Question
#1
05-15-18, 01:29 PM
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Ceiling Fan Light Wiring Question
Hi everyone, this is my first wiring job and my first post on diy.com. I am not handy at all but am giving this a go to try to make my girlfriend's life a bit easier.
I'm basically trying to reinstall a pull switch on a ceiling fan light kit. The handyman just replaced it, but it's already not working again, so I figured I would kind of unwire it and then rewire it, making sure all connections are good and secure. Then if that doesn't work, get a new switch altogether.
However, I was dumb and didn't take a pic of how the wiring was before I unwired it all. So now I don't know how the wires are supposed to go hook up. I know this is simple stuff, but as I say, no one is less experienced at this than I am.
I've attached a couple of photos of the kit I'm working with. The switch has two black wires coming out of it. Obviously one of these will connect to the hot wire (which is blue). If you look at the picture, you can see this is done via an intermediate black wire (sorry, it's hard to see, but it's there in the second photo, around the middle, near the orange wire cap).
So I have one of the wires coming out of the switch hooked up to a black wire, which is hooked up to a blue wire, which will hook up to the actual hot wire (which is also blue, I believe).
But then what does the other wire coming out of the switch hook up to? Do I hook it up with the four wires that go to the lights?
I'm basically trying to reinstall a pull switch on a ceiling fan light kit. The handyman just replaced it, but it's already not working again, so I figured I would kind of unwire it and then rewire it, making sure all connections are good and secure. Then if that doesn't work, get a new switch altogether.
However, I was dumb and didn't take a pic of how the wiring was before I unwired it all. So now I don't know how the wires are supposed to go hook up. I know this is simple stuff, but as I say, no one is less experienced at this than I am.
I've attached a couple of photos of the kit I'm working with. The switch has two black wires coming out of it. Obviously one of these will connect to the hot wire (which is blue). If you look at the picture, you can see this is done via an intermediate black wire (sorry, it's hard to see, but it's there in the second photo, around the middle, near the orange wire cap).
So I have one of the wires coming out of the switch hooked up to a black wire, which is hooked up to a blue wire, which will hook up to the actual hot wire (which is also blue, I believe).
But then what does the other wire coming out of the switch hook up to? Do I hook it up with the four wires that go to the lights?
#3
05-16-18, 05:53 AM
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Thank you! That looked like the most (only) logical solution to me, since I didn't know how else current would get to the bulbs! Ha ha. But I wanted to confirm before I blew something up.
#4
05-16-18, 11:50 AM
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Good sir, thank you for your help. Now I have another issue, perhaps you could help me. I've attached another photo of the fan itself. I tried hooking up the blue wire that is connected to the new switch to the blue-coated copper wire that you see in the photo. That didn't work.
Do I need to hook the blue wire that's connected to the switch to the other blue wire you see in the photo? The one connected to the OTHER switch? I think that switch is defunct, so I don't know why it would factor in. But I figure, hey, process of elimination. I can't think of any other hook-up that would work.
I am hooking up the white wires together, i.e. the one coming from the bulbs and the one coming from the fan. I'm not sure if this is correct.
In a situation like this, how can you know which wires hook up to which? Are there any principles you can follow, any standardized rules or anything? It feels pretty dangerous just hooking up random wires, and I can't find any clear, exact guidance online for my particular situation.
Is it important that one of the blue wires coming out of the fan is copper and the other is not?
(See attached photo in my next post.)
Do I need to hook the blue wire that's connected to the switch to the other blue wire you see in the photo? The one connected to the OTHER switch? I think that switch is defunct, so I don't know why it would factor in. But I figure, hey, process of elimination. I can't think of any other hook-up that would work.
I am hooking up the white wires together, i.e. the one coming from the bulbs and the one coming from the fan. I'm not sure if this is correct.
In a situation like this, how can you know which wires hook up to which? Are there any principles you can follow, any standardized rules or anything? It feels pretty dangerous just hooking up random wires, and I can't find any clear, exact guidance online for my particular situation.
Is it important that one of the blue wires coming out of the fan is copper and the other is not?
(See attached photo in my next post.)
#6
05-16-18, 12:32 PM
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Okay, here's that photo.............................................................................................................................................................
#7
05-16-18, 12:37 PM
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#9
05-16-18, 04:28 PM
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Happy to report that I was able to get the job done, the pull switch is working like a dream and gf is duly impressed. (She is far better at these things than I.) I really appreciate your help, ray2047.
