I've found a few responses that seem to address my ceiling fan dilemma, but can't figure out exactly how to resolve this issue and this is just the first one. I've recently purchased a home and have been replacing ceiling fans that didn't work properly. The first issue is with the ceiling fan in the master bedroom - it won't operate with the wall switch, which didn't seem to work before. When I removed the old fan there were two sets of wires - 2 black, 2 white and 2 grounds. I connected the 2 black to the black and blue wires from the ceiling fan, the 2 whites to the white on the ceiling fan and the grounds to the green as it had been previously wired. Apparently the old fan wasn't wired correctly. Short of hiring an electrician, what is the simplest way to solve the wiring question. How do I determine which white and/or black wires need to be connected? Thanks in advance.

Use a volt meter to see if the switch is effectively controlling the power in the ceiling fan wires. Maybe it does not, or maybe the switch is where the problem is. Sounds like you wired the fan properly.

Derek

Did the old fan work at all? Does the current fan work at all? I agree a voltmeter will be very helpful.

Ceiling fan wiring - Ceiling Fans N More (http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/ceiling-fan-wiring.php)

The old ceiling fan operated using the pull chains but not all of the bulb sockets worked. The replacement fan operates in the same way - pull chains not the wall switch. The wall switch didn't work, which is why it was replaced. I plan to pick up a voltmeter this weekend and check the switch. If anyone has any other suggestions, please share. I'm learning as I go.

Thanks for the responses so far.

Ok, not all of the bulb sockets doesn't have anything to do with the ceiling wiring. The switch not working might be the wiring-- what type of switch is it?

Are there any wires in the ceiling box?

The switch is a basic light switch with a ground, a white wire and a black wire. The ceiling box contains two sets of wires each having a black, a white and a ground. Not realizing that there was a problem, I wired the replacement fan the same as the old fan - the blacks to the black fan wire, the whites to the white fan wire and the ground to the green fan wire. There are some things that I plan to check this weekend including the switch to see if I can get this to work correctly.

Thanks,

I think you will need to trace the wiring from the switch to the fan, and/or get a voltmeter, to get this working. I could hazard a few guesses but I'd rather not.