I just purchased a ceiling fan for my living room that has nothing on the ceiling. I'm using surface wiring parts and accessories to put it in place. I purchased 14/2 wiring, hid it in the raceway tubing, and led it to an existing wall switch that currently operates an outlet. I would like to somehow make that outlet powered on all the time, and use the switch to power the ceiling fan light. I followed all directions when installing and putting together the ceiling fan (black/blue to black, white to white, and ground and so forth. The switchbox is stumping me. I can tell the wires coming from the outlet to the switch is black, red, and white. The whites are all pigtailed in the rear ( because there's another switch next to it that operates the porch light)and the red and black wires are connected to the switch (from the outlet). The swith only has 3 terminals. The wires I have led to the switchbox from the fan are black white and ground. How can I power the ceiling fan light with that switch, while giving the outlet power all the time? Please and Thank you so much!

Just plug the fan into the outlet that the switch operates and keep the switch turned on. Simple. Don't do any fancy rewiring as I is not necessary. Just don't turn the switch off.

" I purchased 14/2 wiring" this indicates cable not wires. Tell us what exactly you are using. Please tell us what wires you find in that switch box. Colors and which ones are connected to the switch. Usually you can not just tap into a switch wiring to power a fixture, the switch carries no neutral.

The swith only has 3 terminals.

Hopefully you are counting the ground screw when you say that.



Connect the white from the fan to the whites that you said were pigtailed together. Connect the red and black from the outlet together with a wire nut and add a pigtail. Connect the pigtail to the switch. Connect the black from the fan to the switch.

It's a 25' roll cable that has a 14 gauge black, white, and ground. The switch box houses 2 switches. 1 on the left for the porch light, 1 on the right for the receptacle. There's a bundle of whites taped together in the back. Black power is coming in to both switches. The receptacle switch has its power on the bottom left terminal, with a black going to the receptacle on the upper left terminal and a red on the bottom right going to the receptacle as well. I undid everything coming from the receptacle and just added the black from the fan to the top switch terminal, while touching the whites and I can get the fan to work but the lights shut off after 2 seconds.

I'm going to attempt what hkstroud suggested earliar and see what happens.

Anymore questions or suggestions please feel free, and thank you again!

HK, your suggestion got me farther than I could on my own... the fan and light works great, but the outlet doesn't work at all. I hooked everything up the way you told me, please respond... I'm so anxious to get this done already.

Thanks again!

Maybe I need a diff swithch? Like I said the one I'm using only has 3 terminals, I switched the wiring and either the outlet will work and the fan/light won't, or the fan/light will work while the outlet doesn't... is there a switch I can buy that can operate both the fan/light and receptacle? I was hoping for straight power to the receptacle while utilizing a switch for the fan/light only but that doesn't seem like its going to happen.

To make this quicker, HK or anyone with more questions and/or suggestions please feel free to call me on my cell. I'm going to be home all day till I get this right. Thx again

217-671-7096

Ok, I just found out that receptacle is operated by 2 diff switches, (the one I've been working on, and the other one down the hall.) Does that make any diff? I'm still shooting for power on at the receptacle all the time while using one of the switches to solely operate a ceiling fan light.

Like I said the one I'm using only has 3 terminals, I switched the wiring and either the outlet will work


Ok, I just found out that receptacle is operated by 2 diff switches,

Yes that makes a difference. Put the wires at the switch the way they were.

Then connect the black going to the outlet to one of the black wires on the other switch. If you connect to the correct one the outlet will be hot all the time. If you connect to the wrong one the outlet will be hot only when the porch light is on, If that happens move the outlet black to the other black of the porch switch.

Strip off the outer sheathing of the 14/2 cable. Run three wires, one white and two blacks to the fan/light in the wire mold.
Connect the white to the bundle of whites, connect one black wire to the same place you connected the black to the outlet. One of the terminals on the switch will be a different color, either brass or black. Connect the other black to the fan/light to that terminal.

At the ceiling box, connect white to white. Connect the black that you connected to the switch to the blue fan wire. Connect the other black to the black to the fan. Switch will control light. Pull chain will control fan. If you want the fan to be controlled by a wall switch you will have to add another switch.

Great thanks for all your help!