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Electrical Wiring

Dilemna- ceiling fan wiring not attached to a switch,,options?

16 years ago

Hi, Previous owner put in an after builder ceiling fan but did not link it to a switch so it's only pull cord on/off. We come along and move the ceiling fan and want to know if the chandelier type fixture we have that says it's both hard wireable and plug in, can be made to work with this set up? My husband is very DIY but thinks we are dead in the water and not crazy about having electrician come out,,expense etc.

Thanks, Nicole

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Comments (4)

itsunclebill
16 years ago
Several things come to mind, but which you go with is going to depend on what you're willing to try. Adding a switch leg is a pretty simple job if there is attic access above the ceiling.

A simple alternative is one of several brands of remote control relay. These are installed at the fixture and the control can either be a special wall mounted switch or there can be a plug in transceiver that receives signals from a battery powered transmitter that looks like a wall switch. The right relay will give you dimming options. Check out these guys.
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piper101
Original Author
16 years ago
Bill, Okay great!! I just knew it wasn't a lost cause. Now I know what to ask for. Thx, Nicole
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Yesterday I installed a fan w/ remote and considered removing the wall switch and putting a cover plate to get rid of the bulky remote hanger/switch protector. Maybe I'll leave it. Btw, if there was something tapped off that circuit, isn't there a good chance there would be a second pair of wire in the ceiling box? (That's provided that the wall switch isn't a switch leg...which it isn't in this case, since there's two (and not one) pair of wire in the wall box, right?)
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I can't follow your description. Does this switch turn on multiple lights? Generally there are two things feeding a light. The neutral side is connected usually to a bundle of other white wires in the box. The hot side is connected to a wire going to a switch (this wire may end up being white or not unfortuantely). The white wire from the fan goes to the neutral (bundle of whites). THere are typically two wires in a fan with lights. One goes to the fan and one goes to the light. In retrofit cases like this where there is only one switch you typically have a couple of options. The simplest is to connect both of these to the wire coming from the switch. The switch turns on both the light and fan and if you only want one you use the remote or a pull chain on the fan to turn off the other. You might get more clever again by reading the suggested installation tips in the fan instructions. ONE IMPORTANT THING on these retrofits. Your ceiling box that is in place is probably NOT strong enough to hold the weight of the fan. You need to make sure it is properly supported or replace it with one that is, lest this oversized cuisinart suddenly comes crashing down on you.
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I need some more information. The light kit is attached, but what about the wires up in the canopy of the fan? What is the blue wire up there connected to? What kind of wall switch is being used? Of course I'm assuming that you've pulled on the pull chain on the light fixture, as well as turning it on at the wall switch. I don't think it's too likely that there's a problem internal to the fan. It's most likely in the way that it's installed. Any chance you can call your installer back?
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The black and blue on the light fixture are both hot (black). One controls the fan one controls the light so you can have separate switches if you want but not required. Wire the black and blue together if you want both controlled by the same switch. There are multiple ways to wire this. One of the white wires available in the box should have black tape on it to signify that it is hot. If the light fixture was working fine before I think you can attach the black and blue to the white wire that is hot, then attach the white to the other white. This is wired a bit differently than how I would wire it. Here is another way. Find which switch that has the power source and wire the two switches and light fixture accordingly. http://www.homeimprovementweb.com/information/how-to/three-way-switch-option3.htm This post was edited by Vith on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 16:27
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radioguy4ever
16 years ago
we had a simmilar situation where we added a ceiling fan to our living room, which is on the 1st floor. we wired it in by opening the floor above on the 2nd floor, as we were in the process of gutting that room. the only problem was we didnt have the ability to run a switch so we used one of those remote type switches. they work great.
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cobraguy
16 years ago
I did the same thing on my outdoor patio. I replaced two light fixtures with ceiling fans/lights combos. I had plenty of room to run a switch, but decided to go the wireless remote route. I bought two of the remotes, set the DIP switches to the same frequency, and just used one wireless switch in the switch panel just inside the patio door (replacing the original switch that controlled the lights). It controls both lights/fans perfectly. As an added bonus, I could take the other wireless switch and toss it on the patio table to control them when we're out on the patio if we want. Pretty cool stuff!
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