We have a Hampton Bay "Brookedale" model ceiling fan. It is about a year old and was working fine until a few days ago. We came home and it was on (we left the house and it was turned off), with the fan running and the light on, but not it's usual brightness, very dim. I've checked the wiring to the fan from the outlet box and it appears OK and the connection from the fan to the light fixture and this seems to be fine also. The fan works fine, it only appears the light fixture is impacted.

Any suggestions?

Ummm, I would like to let everyone know about a feature I was unaware of with this fan's remote. After, ahem, reading the directions, it appears that if you hold down the light's on/off switch on the remote, it operates as a dimmer switch.

"Problem" solved, thanks for everyone's time!

Remote control fans that turn themselves on do so by two methods. The most common is a RF frequency from so other source like a TV, garage door or neighbor. That isn't your situation because your remote could over ride an errant RF. I think you got a power surge and the capacitor my be fried.

Glad you got it working.

Yep, glad its working but you also said "we left the house and it was turned off" so I think you still have a ghost.

This answer is very accurate.

I had this same problem - and my energy saving bulbs on my ceiling fan kept blinking. I measured the voltage and found a low 70V at the bulb socket. I then consulted the Internet, found this string and found that I had the same issue: a remote that can be used to brighten the lights (increase the voltage). It seems that whenever the fixture is turned off the light system defaults to low dim. Thanks for your post - it solved my problem too!

Correct. You can't use energy saving bulbs on most remote fans.

Thank you so much for posting the solution to this... I too was having the same problem and here my 2 year old was playing with the remote and must have held the button down. It has been driving me crazy for weeks!! Early Christmas present for me because I was worried I would have to replace the fan! Happy Holidays!

Thank you, Thank you! I was scatching my head for weeks about this. You just saved me a ton of time & money. Hampton Bay needs to put something on the remote to show how to dim or that the button also dims. It would avoid the confusion.

After doing everything except disassembling our ceiling fan, I typed in this question... and voilà! Problem solved. Now my husband is playing with the dimmer on the remote control :) Thanks!

Thank you for posting up the fix. I had a contractor install the fan and remote and didn't get any paper work on the unit from him. So I wasn't aware it had a dimmer in it. So I was going mad for a few hours until I found this thread and the solution for the fix. Thanks again!!

Scandinavian 42" (105 cm) dual mount style fan with remote control. Three speeds. Integrated glass light kit, halogen type. Four teak-finish blades. Purchased at Canadian Tire.

Problem: C-Fan light was dim.
Solution: press and hold down the light button on remote to increase brightness. Lol

Brilliant!

I'd taken the thing to bits trying to work out where the regulator/power converter was. Then I saw the reply to this...

Thank you, thank you!

Thanks! I had same issue! What kind of weird interface is this?

Oh my God, this worked!

I love Google and you guys for fixing my problem so quickly!

I had installed a new ceiling fan, and when I turned on the lights, it would turn on brightly then immediately dim. I thought something was wrong with the wiring or the fan.
I googled it and found your answer, I went home and pushed on the remote's light button, and Voilà! Dim light got brighter!

Yay!

Thank you for helping me figure out why every single bulb I purchased didn't seem to light the room bright enough! Sorry, Lowe's... there was nothing in the owners manual about this one!

I guess there were instructions about this... BUT IT SHOULD BE IN BIG, BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS!!!

Same here, my 10 month old loves the fan remote! Thank you for posting. This was driving me nuts!