I am helping my dad remodel their house and he has bought new ceiling fans to go in the upstairs bedrooms. We took the old fan down and here is what we found:

I have a black wire, white wire, and a blue wire. I connected the black - black, white - white, and blue-blue (from the fan into the existing ceiling wiring). The fan works and the light above the desk works, but the ceiling fan light does not. Previously the switch operated the fan light and the desk light and the pull chain operated the fan. What have I hooked up wrong. There is no green ground either and I haven't seen that before. I am merely a weekend electrician trying to do a good deed.....

XenoSapien

You have a blue wire from the ceiling?

XenoSapien

tannertornadoes

Yes. As I said when we took the old fan down that is what is showing. I don't know what is above in the junction box. But, yes, there is a blue pig-tail coming from the box. 1 black, 1 blue, and 1 white. It has me stumped. I used my tester and got 120V on the blue wire with the switch on and nothing off. The black has 120 all the time no matter whether switch is off or on.

Anybody got any ideas? I am lost and losing patience by the minute. Not to mention my stock with my dad is dropping dramatically since I cannot figure it out.

XenoSapien

Wow, that's odd. Hmmmm; ok, try this: Cap off the blue wire from the ceiling and connect the blue wire from the fan to the black from the ceiling. I'll stick around, so tell me what it does now.

XenoSapien

tannertornadoes

Okay, let me kill the power and try it all again. Thanks stand by.

tannertornadoes

Okay, now fan light is on all the time. Fan works. Light over the desk works according to switch position on/off. Fan light will not go out.

XenoSapien

This is a tough one. It's hard knowing that you have a black, a white, and a blue wire coming off the ceiling. I'm thinking that you were ok with blue to blue because it worked with the switch. Have you looked at the switch, and seen the wires attatched to it?

XenoSapien

tannertornadoes

Yes. A black and a white at the switch. And I was at the fire station working when Dad took the old fan down so I do not know what was hooked up where on it.

tannertornadoes

Is there anything else I can try or do I just need to get an electrician to come and bail us out?

XenoSapien

I guess usually if there is a third wire, it's red. Wow, you've got a toughie. He didn't say anything about the blue? I guess it's possible that there is a splice somewhere where someone converted the red to blue along the line, but if you're getting power from the blue, there has to be a source where it is getting power...

XenoSapien