Hi all... new to this board. We just bought a home with a Hampton Bay 52 In. Redington Iii 3-Speed Ceiling Fan, but it doesn't work? Could it simply be missing the remote? There is a "mystery switch" on the wall that doesn't turn on anything and I think it has something to do with the ceiling fan, but when I turn it on, nothing happens to the fan/lights. I see Home Depot has a wall remote for Hampton Bays, but where the mystery switch is is part of a 4-switch grouping.

Questions:

Could I just buy a universal remote? If so, how much are they and how do I get one?

How does the Home Depot remote work... does it just mount to the wall, and the remote comes out to set down anywhere in the room (on the coffee table, etc)? If so... how does it get wired to anything.. or does it?

Sorry if these are dumb questions... I'm good around the home improvement area, but ceiling fan troubleshooting is brand new to me.

packfan

If it doesn't have pull strings, it is for sure remote controlled fan.
Remote from home depot should help. Look at the receivers while you are there, to show
Switches in receiver that have to match remote. Can be under canopy, or fan switching
Housing. Test new remote with switch on, then off.
Switch may control half of a recpticle.

DOES it have pullchains?

The new remotes, you have to match the dip switches to the receiver inside the fan, and then it should work wirelessly.

If you had someone install this for you, it is possible that your 4-button "mystery switch" is the remote in a wall-mounted cradle. If this is the case, it is very possible that the remote does not have any batteries in it as Harbor Bay ships their remotes without batteries.

That being said, I would think it VERY unusual for an installer to consider his job complete without testing basic functionality.

You might also have another "normal" switch - one that controls power to the fan itself. It must be on in order for the remote to do anything at all.

-dave