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Jim Staelgraeve
Dec 26, 2005, 06:25 PM
I just moved into a new house and I'm installing ceiling fans. I've installed 4 other ceiling fans with no issues and on my last one I'm scratching my head.

For each fan I'm installing a switch with a separate fan and light controller on the wall (side by side sliders). There are 3 wires on each switch, Hot, Fan, and Light.

This is where I'm scratching my head...

When I took the face plate off the ceiling box, there were four (4) wires. Red (Hot), light orange, dark orange, and a white (guessing neutral). The ceiling fan has 3 wires, Black(Hot), Blue(light), and white(fan). Up to this point all of my other ceiling fans had 3 runs to the switch MINUS the white wire. This white wire does not end up at the switch as the other runs, but I'm assuming that it's terminated at another gang box on a large twist nut.

Here's my question. I wired this fan the same as the other and capped off the white hoping it would work the same as the other ceiling fans but it looks like this neutral is its only way back to the service feed.

How do I wire this bad boy? :)

labman
Dec 26, 2005, 06:49 PM
I don't think you understand the wiring of the fans. Black and blue are the power into the fan and light, and the white is the neutral. The black and blue need to be connected to wires from each slider and the white to the neutral.

Try connecting the white to the white, and the black and blue to which ever wires are connected to the fan and light terminals at the switch.

Jim Staelgraeve
Dec 26, 2005, 06:51 PM
Thanks... What do I do with the red wire at the ceiling box? Should I just cap off the red wire?

wheatnbarley24
Dec 26, 2005, 06:58 PM
Typically on a ceiling fan the black and the blue or both hots. The white is a common neutral for the two. You need to hook whichever two wires are hooked to the switches to the black and the blue and the white to the white
Id wired nut the end of the red wire and tape it up just in case

labman
Dec 26, 2005, 07:14 PM
I forgot about it, cap it like wheat said.

ceilingfanrepair
Feb 21, 2006, 09:00 PM
Did it work? If not you may have a switch loop.. . Which of the wires head to the switches, do you know? Do you have a volt meter?

For more information on ceiling fan wiring:

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/ceiling-fan-wiring.php