I took down the old ceiling fan and didn't pay attention to the wiring. When I went to hook up the new fan I noticed that instead of 1 black, 1 white and one ground wire I have 2 whites, 2 blacks and 2 ground wires. The old ceiling fan turned on and off from the wall switch so that I could leave the fan running without the light. My new ceiling fan has 1 white, 1 black, 1 blue and 1 ground wire. How do I connect these so I can have the same situation as my previous ceiling fan?? Thanks.

donf

Kev,

What you are looking at in the ceiling is a switch loop cable (Black/White & Bare Ground) and a supply cable, (Black [always hot], White [Neutral] & Bare ground)

Switches only carry power, period. If you have a Volt-Ohm Meter, determine the supply wire by testing the Black/White combination in the ceiling. There should be 120 VAC between the pair.

Once you have identified the correct pairing, turn the Circuit Breaker in the main panel off.

At the ceiling, connect the supply Black to the Switch White. This white wire should have a small band of black tape around it to identify it as a current carrying conductor.

Next, connect the Black (Switch wire) to both the Black <fan> and Blue <light> on the fixture.

Connect the White <fan> to the White <supply>. Connect all bare ground wires together in the ceiling. Turn the breaker back on and test the light. With the Switch in the "On" position, the light should work when you pull the chain.

ceilingfanrepair

Don, they may or may not have a switch loop.

When you removed the old fan, were any of the wires in your ceiling connected to each other, with or without the wires from the fan?

Also, your old fan, the light was controlled from the wall and the fan from the chains, vice versa, or separate switches from the wall?

donf

CFR - Welcome back.

Not to aggravate you but I did assume (Always dangerous) that since the OP referenced the switch on the wall, that there was a switch loop.

Of course, the switch could be the feed for the unit, but what he described as being in the ceiling fit a switch loop.

Stratmando

It could still be either.
Power could come in to switch then up to fan then to other fan or light.
It could have switched 2 lights. Later they installed a Fan??
Will be helpful to know any connections left intact.

ceilingfanrepair

It fits a switch loop but it also fits a few other wiring options. This is why I usually respond first by asking a bunch of questions, whether than presuming answers right away. Electricians, homeowners and hobbyists have some strange wiring ideas and you never know what you may encounter.