Custom Search

These links may help you

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Fan needs switch for lights on fan, not fan

Many fans are switched on and off with the light, and this gets annoying. If you have a newer home this may be a simple fix for you. If not you may have to run extra wires. I would go through the steps even if you have an older home, you may get lucky and the wire may be there. Also if your house is run in pipe you will have to do a couple of extra steps but very easy also.

Fan needs switch for lights on fan, not fan

If you have any questions please ask in the comment link below, I will answer them to the best of my ability, also if you have future projects that you would like step by step instructions please post in the comment box I will usually answer the same day.

1) Tools.
a) Thin flat head screw driver
b) Phillips head screw driver
c) drill(optional)
d) wire strippers(maybe)
e) ac tester
f) tape

2) Shut the power off to the switch. If your old switch still works (yes people change switches that still work) turn it on. Go to your panel (your panel has the breakers or the fuses in it) and turn the breakers off one by one. Changing a switch is a one man job but if you want to avoid running back a forth another person standing there and yelling at you when the light shuts off helps. Or shutting all the breakers off and the main just to be sure is what I would recommend. This is electricity SAFETY FIRST!!!!!

3) Remove the plate cover from the switch. This will be the easiest part of your project. On the top and bottom of the switch there will be small screws. You will need the thin flat head screwdriver to remove these. If the location you are installing the switch has multiple switches you will need to remove all the plate screws. Then remove the plate and place the screws and the plate together for replacing later. Do not lose those little screws believe me they are easy to lose.

4) Remove the switch. OK the fun part. Take a drill or a Phillips head screw driver and take out the screws on the top and bottom of the switch. Now grab the yoke of the switch(that's the top and bottom of the switch) do not grab the switch by the side we want to be sure the power is off and the only way to do this is to pull out the switch. The power is located on the side so if you grab it by the sides and for some reason the power is still on you will get shocked. This is electricity SAFETY FIRST!!!!! So grab the yoke and pull out the switch. If you are in a box with multiple switches you may need to remove multiple switches to be able to pull your switch out far enough to easily work on it. Wires commonly get stuck behind other switches so take the extra step you will wind up doing it anyway after trying to work with short wires and fail. Trust me I tried too.

5) Check and make sure power is turned off!!!!This is the most important part of this project. Your tester should have a black and red lead on it. Set your tester to 120v ac and place one lead on one of the screws of the switch and the other lead on the metal box. If you don't have a metal box then you definitely have romex and you will have bare wires in the box. These bare wires are your ground, place your other lead on the bare wires. If you do not have a metal box or bare wires Stop and call an electrician, we need to ensure the power is off. I'm sorry but we don't want anyone getting hurt. While keeping your one lead on either the box or the bare wires place the other lead on each screw ensuring that your meter shows no power. I don't want to scare anyone but it does hurt when you get shocked and most importantly it can kill you. Electricity is fun for me and I work with it everyday but you probably don't, so be careful.

6) Find the switch leg. Turn the power back on. If you wondering why I made you check in the last step, I would like you to learn how to use your tester with the power off first. So now with the power on and the switch in the off position, test the two screws on the switch. One should be on and the other off. We want the one that is off(also called the switch leg). Mark it with tape and turn the power back off.

7) Trace the wire. You must follow the switch leg into the box. We need to see where it is coming from in the box. You need to know exactly which romex this wire is coming from, or which pipe the switch leg is coming from.
Romex
a) If you have romex, it should be coming from a wire that has a black, red, white, and bare wire. If you have this, the red and black may be spliced together, separate them and reconnect one of the wires to the switch then turn the power on. Turn the switch to the on position, if only the light or the fan turned on install a double stack switch.
b) If you had the red wire and the fan and the light still turned on, you will have to take the fan down and make sure you have a red and black in the fan box and that they are not connected together. If they are seperate them and connect them idividually to the fan.
c) If you had no red wire in box, check in the fan box while you have it down. You may have a wire that always stays on in the box. Many people are satisfied pulling the chain for the fan and switching the lights. So you will have to take the fan wire from the fan(usually full black) and connect it to the wires that are constantly hot(with the power off of course).
Pipe
a) Check to see if the switch leg is spliced to another wire, if it is, separate and reconnect one of the wires to the switch then turn the power on. Turn the switch to the on position, if only the light or the fan turned on, install a double stack switch.
b) If you did not have and extra wire connected to your switch leg you will need to take the fan down and run a new wire to the fan. Either add a second switch or pigtail the constant hot wire on the switch, to use the chain on the fan. Check in the fan box while you have it down. You may have a wire that always stays on in the box that you can connect to eliminating the need to run an extra wire. If you go this route you will have to take the fan wire from the fan(usually full black) and connect it to the wires that are constantly hot(with the power off of course). But if you have pipe why not run an extra wire and install a double stack switch.

If you found this helpful please click on one of the ads at the top or bottom of the page for support.


John
Check your state and local codes before starting any project. Follow all safety precautions. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and safety. I can not be held responsible for damages or injuries resulting from the use of the information in this document

No comments:

Post a Comment