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View Full Version : Put ceiling fan in kitchen and now bathroom and upstair switch won't work


jensenm85
Aug 8, 2010, 09:13 AM
There are 5 wires in the junction box 2blacks are together then 1white,1blackand1red

hkstroud
Aug 8, 2010, 11:02 AM
Assuming there is a switch in the kitchen, pull switch and tell us what wires are there and which wires are connected to switch. Unless you have individual wires pulled in conduit, there has to be another white wire. Look again.

jensenm85
Aug 8, 2010, 01:45 PM
Assuming there is a switch in the kitchen, pull switch and tell us what wires are there and which wires are connected to switch. Unless you have individual wires pulled in conduit, there has to be another white wire. Look again.

There are two switches in the kitchen one goes to the outside light and one to the kitchen light. The kitchen switch has a red and a black connected to it. My wiring is very old and hard to tell colors. Is it possible that the two black that are together in the junction box could really be a white and a black

jensenm85
Aug 8, 2010, 01:56 PM
[QUOTE=jensenm85;2472765]there are two switches in the kitchen one goes to the outside light and one to the kitchen light. The kitchen switch has a red and a black connected to it. My wiring is very old and hard to tell colors. Is it possible that the two black that are together in the junction box could really be a white and a black. It looks like the switches are the hot point and everything is a jumper off the switches

hkstroud
Aug 10, 2010, 06:44 AM
If there are 5 wires in the ceiling box there is a 2-wire and a 3-wire cable. The 2-wire will have a black and white. The 3-wire will have a black, red and white. Therefore there must be two white wires in the ceiling box.

If the blacks are connected together in the ceiling and the black and red are connected to the switch, the 2-wire cable is bring power (hot and neutral) to the ceiling. The black of the 3-wire cable is hot to the switch, hot to the bathroom. The white of the 3-wire cable is neutral to the switch location where it is connected to the neutral to the bathroom. The red of the 3-wire cable brings power back from the switch to the light.

Connect the black of the ceiling fan/light to the two black wires already connected. Connect blue of the ceiling fan/light to the red. Connect the two whites in the ceiling box and white of the ceiling fan/light together. The switch will control the light and the pull chain will control the fan.

Reason bath room and upstairs don't work is that the neutrals (two whites in ceiling box) are not connected.

If the black connected to the switch is not in the same cable as the red, then power is indeed coming to the switch first. Does not matter. Wiring in ceiling is the same. Problem is the same, neutrals in ceiling not connected.