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View Full Version : Wiring a ceiling fan to two switches and need some help


deejay16
Jul 31, 2012, 12:15 PM
We are replacing an old ceiling fan that had no lights. There are two wall switches so we'd like to be able to control the fan and lights separately.
At the ceiling box I have two cables, both contain a black wire, a white wire and a ground. The two white wires are bundled together and were connected to the white wire on the old fan. The two grounds are bundled together and were connected to the green ground on the old fan.
So, how do I connect the wires on the new fan to utilize both wall switches? The fan has a black wire, a white wire, a ground wire and a black and white wire.
At the wall, each switch has a black, white, and ground wire going into it.

Any help is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Stratmando
Jul 31, 2012, 12:22 PM
You would hook 1 black up to 1 black wire at the fan, the other black, to the black/white wire(light) on the fan.
I would test with a bulb or meter to verify. There is a posibility the other black is constantly hot, if so have fan on the pull chain.
Or you can get a Transmitter/receiver and be able to control both, needing only 1 switchleg or source.

mike 165278
Aug 1, 2012, 11:25 AM
Where were the 2 blacks previously connected? Can you test the cables coming in to verify that each is controlled by it's own switch? You might have 1 black coming in as always hot (back to panel), the white with it going back to the neutral at the panel, and the other cable is just a switch leg. Or you could have each switch being fed from the panel and each controlling it's own load. You really need to test the wires.

hkstroud
Aug 2, 2012, 07:51 AM
Please re-examine you wiring in both the ceiling box and in the switch boxes. As described the wiring is not logical. If you have two cables and only two cables in the ceiling, each with a black wire and a white wire, and the blacks were connected together and the whites were connected together, and if you have two cables and only two cables in the switch box with the black wires and the white wires are connected to the switches, there would be no cable to bring power to either the ceiling box or the switch box.

There must either be additional cables or the connections must be different than you describe.