I am trying to replace a ceiling fan with a regular light fixture. The ceiling box has four black wires twisted together, four white wires twisted together and one red wire. There is no ground. The light fixture has one black wire, one white wire and a ground. There are two switches that control the one fixture. I can wire it so that the light is on but will not go off from either switch. I have tried black to black, white to white and capped red; white to white, ceiling red to fixture black and ceiling black capped.

How was the fan connected?

There are five ways a set of 3-way switches can be wired. Compound that with the fact that you are replacing a fan/light combination and you can see how we need more information.

Tell us how the fan/light combination you remove functioned. Could the fan be controlled by a wall switch or was it turned on and off by the pull chain only?
Was the light the only thing controlled by the wall switches?

Do you remember anything about how things were wired when you removed the fan/light?

Describe the wires in the ceiling box again. Describe like this.
"There are three two conductor cables (we don't count the ground) with black and white wires and one three conductor cable with black, red and white wires in the ceiling box. Then describe how those wires are connected."

Remove both switches and describe the wiring in each box. Describe in the same manner.

The fan/light combo was wired white to white, black to black and blue (from the fixture) to red in the ceiling.
The light and fan could be operated by either the chain or the switches, but if it was turned off at the chain, it could not be turned on by the switches. In the ceiling box there are three two conductor cables with black and white wires and one three conductor cable that has red, black and white from it. All the white wires are twisted together, all the black wires are twisted together, and the red was separate. On one switch, there is a white wire attached to a screw on one side and two black wires on the other. On the other switch, there is again a white wire from one side; on the other side there is one black wire, and one red, the red is attached to the black screw.

Are there two switches at the first location and another switch somewhere else in the room?
If so, there should be two 3-conductor cables in that box. There should be only one 3-conductor cable in the other switch box.

I am guessing both switches are in one box and there is no other switch elsewhere in the room. Originally one switch controlled just the fan with a white and black. The other switch controlled the light with a red and white. Is the switch box a 4x4 or a 2x4?

Don't know Bob, title says three way switch.


white wire from one side; on the other side there is one black wire, and one red
Sounds like a 3-way to me.

There is one switch box on one wall and one on another. They both have two switches, one that controlled the fan/light combo and another switch that controls a light in another room.

It is not entirely clear yet what does what. The box that controlled the fan, it has two switches, right? One switch controlled the light and the other the fan, right? For now lets forget the box that controls the light in the other room. Unless you have any fixture in either room that can be controlled by two switches.