We have a hampton ceiling fan with remote. The lights work fine. When you engage the remote it acts like it is in two modes at the same time and you can hear it struggling and smells hot. What suggestions do you have. This fan is not very old.

If the blades spin freely when the fan is off - you may have a bad motor capacitor. If the unit is indeed "not very old" - hopefully it is still under warranty and you can take it back for a new one. If not, these capacitors are often replaceable and can be found in some better hardware stores and electrical supply houses. They are usually found in the compartment where the pull and fan reverse switches are located.

If the blades do not turn freely when the fan is off - you likely have a mechanical problem - i.e.. Bad / gummed up bearings. Proper cleaning and oiling may help this problem (or it may not). For a more complete discussion of fan troubleshooting, see this link:

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/ceiling-fan-general-troubleshooting-and-FAQ.php

Thanks for using my troubleshooting document :)

Hampton Bay fans have a lifetime warranty so you should be able to bring it back to Home Depot for a full replacement. It does indeed sound like a bad capacitor, but in remote fans the capacitors are usually part of the receiver.

My Hampton has a remote and two lights... one uplight and one downlight. They come on spontaneously, either one light or both of them, frequently in the middle of the night. It's like having a ghost playing tricks. Any ideas for stopping this problem?