I installed a new ceiling fan in place of an existing light fixture and I installed the wiring per the instructions (from house to fixture) white to white, ground to ground and black to black and blue. The fan does not have a light on it, and I have not touch the cover plate or wires for the future light attachment, though I planned on attaching it after the fan was successfully installed. The wires were twisted together, capped and then taped with electrical tape, flipped the breaker back on and when I hot the switch on the wall, sparks came from the ceiling and the breaker tripped. I un-installed the fan, checked all the wires to make sure nothing was cut or pinched, reconnected it the same way, made sure the hot and white were separated, same result.
Do I need to install the light since the blue wire was attached? Does this matter?
Thank you

Do I need to install the light since the blue wire was attached?

That should not be necessary.

Remove the fan/light, inspect all wires including the house wires for damage (bare spots or missing insulation). If you find no damaged wires return the fan/light as defective.

The light attachment end is hot with the way you wired it. Disconnect the blue and see what happens.

Good afternoon.

Two major things to be concerned about:

1) The junction box that the original light was connected into, is it listed to hold the weight of the fan. If it is not, the fan may decide to fall from the ceiling because of it's weight.

2) I need to understand the wiring in the box prior to the installation of the fan. Was there a "Black/White" feed cable? Was there also a "Black/White" cable that went to the wall switch?

It sounds to me as if you miss connected your switch cable if it were what is called a "Switch Loop"

If all that is in the box was the "Black/White" cable from the switch, that would mean that the power is being sourced through the switch. If that is true, than the Black wire from the switch is your hot wire. It would connect to the Black on the Fan. White would go to White and Bare would connect to the ground wire.

However, if you have a switch loop, then you must first identify you feed cable. Once that is done, you need to find the cable going to the switch. The "White" wire going to the switch will connect to the Black supply wire. The black from the switch will connect to the Black on the Fan and in this instance the Blue. White from the Fan will connect to White on the supply cable. All ground wires will connect together.

Normally, the switch is used to turn the light ON/OFF. The fan would be worked by the pull chain. This would allow you to turn the fan on without having to turn the light on.

If this is your goal, then you would connect the Black from the fan and the White from the switch to the Black supply wire. The Blue from the fan would connect to the black from the switch.

I agree with ma, you energized a light kit that is not there. The blue needs to be wire nutted

That should not be necessary.

Remove the fan/light, inspect all wires including the house wires for damage (bare spots or missing insulation). If you find no damaged wires return the fan/light as defective.

Thank you! I took the fan back, replaced and it and installed it in the same fashion, worked just fine.