I was changing a light bulb in my hampton bay ceiling fan, as I took the old bulb out, the rest of the lights went dim. Now the fan won't run, and the remaining lights in the fan flash on and off.

There is a small part in the light kit of the fan connected to the lighting circuit. The part is relatively common to these fans and is most likely in yours as well. The sticker on the side of it shows model 98480X part number 98480-02. Clip the leads to remove this part and wire-nut the wires back together bypassing it (black/red to black and white to white). This will get your unit back to normal and the switches will still work. I spoke with Hunter and this part has nothing to do with the remote control features of the fan. It is a wattage limiter. If you attempt to put bulbs into the fan that are higher than the recommended wattage this unit steps the voltage down to prevent overheating and possible electrical issues. Removing it will not prevent the fan from functioning but you should be aware that it is in there by federal regulation requirement and without it you could risk electrical failure or fire if you put bulbs in that are too high a wattage. If you call the manufacturer to report the issue they will send you a new lighting housing for your unit which will have a new limiter in it and solve your issue as well. In my case I needed the light working so I bypassed it then requested the part. In the meantime I just made sure that the bulbs I was using were well within spec. In my case the limiter was just on the light, but depending on the model or how the wires were nutted together by your electrician if the fan was also nutted on after this device it would certainly have issues as your bulbs would now be limited to the total wattage of the bulbs and fan combined. Hope this helps all!

Is it a remote fan?

Hampton Bay - Bay Island II ceiling fan. The lights would come on and then immediately turn off and I would hear a clicking sound. The fan would still work fine but no lights. The bulbs were well within the wattage limit (3 x 40watt - limit was 190w) Removed the wattage limiter and hey presto, it now works fine.
The wattage limiter part number was : e216171 / Model PL-190B. It is a black box with 3 wires coming out of it, and has circuitry inside it.
I was nervous about doing this & took my time tracing the wires back.
Remember to flick the circuit breaker off before cutting any wires!

Bad advice. You are tampering with the manufacturer's design and usually, at a minimum that will immediately void any warranty remaining on the fan and also hold you liable for the damages if the change you made creates a dangerous condition.

Contact the manufacturer of the fan before you redesign its electrical circuits.

donf : This was the manufactures advice, I called them before I did anything. They are sending me a new light kit as well.

Either I changed the part or sat in the dark waiting for a new light kit.

I agree that you should always contact the manufactures first.

George Orwell saw it coming - government wattage limiters!

One other problem - these devices emit radio frequency interference (which may violate FCC regulations). I collect and restore old radios, and bought one of these fans for my radio room. I could not understand the delay in the lights coming on when I operated the wall switch, nor the interference. I opened it up today, thinking it might be some sort of defective remote control device which they put in all fans, even if they do not have a remote.

I had the pulsing lights begin Last Friday on one of my Hunter fans that was almost 2 years old. Hunter Fans acknowledged they have limit switch failures but they don't have a replacement for this $250 model. They siad I needed to purchase a new fan.. This bypass info saves me $$$. Thank you.

Having the same issue and would like to re-wire. Can you tell me what you did? I have 3 wires, red, white, & blue