ceiling fan light kit

16 years ago

I am trying to add a light kit to an existing ceiling fan controlled by a wall switch for off and on, and the pull string as well, for three speeds. I realize that the blue wire in the light housing on the fan does not have power, even when fan is switched on, and was capped when I started out. There is a three wire cable in the switch box that runs to the fan. I assume this since the switch controls the black wire for on/off thru this cable. The red wire in this same cable is capped in the box, so I was assuming this might be what I need to connect to power in order to get the power to the fan light blue wire? Please help. I have just hard wired four under cabinet lights in my kitchen by adding a dimmer switch to each outlet on the walls and drawing the power that way, so I consider myself more than a novice, but cannot figure out this one. Thanks.

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Comments (7)

itsunclebill
16 years ago
More than likely the red wire goes to an unused switch next to the one controlling the fan. Less likely but still possible is that the red wire winds up in the same 1 switch wide box as the fan switch and will either require a control that does both jobs or replacing the box with a double wide and using 2 controls. If either fits your situation then the red does get attached to the blue wire in the fan assembly to power the light fixture.

For what it's worth at this point, it is not legal to be running the undercabinet lights off the counter receptacle power. They're supposed to be on a separate circuit. Sorry - - - still a novice
spencer_electrician
16 years ago
As they say, "knows enough to be dangerous". Oh the temptation for beginners when they believe, "well the power is right there, this installation will be a breeze" Wrong
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joed
16 years ago
What wires are in the fan box?
Please clarify what you want to happen. Do you want a second switch to control the light?
texasredhead
16 years ago
Most fans have a black, white and blue wires. The blue usually controls the light. Often when the light is simply to be controlled by a pull string, the blue and black wires coming from the fan are both connected to the black feed wire in the ceiling. Since you do not have seperate switches wired for each this is what you will need to do.

If you can drop the bell on the fan you may find the blue wire just sitting there. If it is, you can remove the wire nut for the black wires, add the blue wire and wire nut them back together. This will give power to the light connections.

One of my fans is wired this way and I can control either the fan and its speed and the light with pull chains. This may not be the best way to install fans but I find fans are often installed where there was once an overhead light.
dekyn51
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all your replies. I researched my problem thouroughly, took apart the current fan to see all the wiring hookup, and long story short, put in a brand new fan with remote and light. It works great and is even better looking that the old one. You would not believe how "jury rigged" the old one was. And as for the legal eagle in the crowd... you should have seen my DIY remodeled basement in my last house which had no permit and probably broke a few codes as well. It sold my house once they saw what a great livable space that was :) inspection and all :)
dekyn51
Original Author
16 years ago
Dear Spencer Electrician; Yes, the power was right there, once I found that the last person had the wiring screwed up! So, as I say, I just started over and installed my new Hunter with light and remote and all works fine! I think the last guy was dangerous though :)
ramkumar_t_s_hotmail_com
16 years ago
Hi
I am novice and am trying to hook up a Ceiling Fan Light Kit to my existing ceiling fan. The installation instructions that came with the light kit are not very clear. I do see a blue wire and a white wire inside the fan housing but the problem is this: Both the blue wire and the white wire are connected to another blue and white wire and that's were it is capped. It does have the tape marking stating "For lights"
I am not sure if I just need to remove the cap and connect the wires from the light kit also (the black to the blue one and the white to the white one).?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Ram