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Amateur DIY · Aug 19, 2012, 06:15 PM

In our old (new to us) home, there is a ceiling fan w/ no pull chain and the fan was previously operated by a variable speed knob (yes, I know that's not the technical term) on the wall. During a renovation, we had the guy take off the 'speed knob' and move the outlet. Its now time to reconnect...

Here's what we have in the box: a red wire, white wire, black wire, and ground wire. Where the heck does everything go? I have a standard switch which allows for 2 wires on 1 side plus a ground on the opposite side.

My questions: Where do I put all of these wires? Do I need a switch that is specialized for fans? Can I use 2 on/off switches and install a new fan? It seems I either have too many wires for a single switch for only a fan and too few wires for a fan and light switch.

Help?

hkstroud · Aug 19, 2012, 09:05 PM

What you had was a variable speed fan switch. That could have been a combination fan and light switch, if the fan was a fan/light combination, or it could have been simply a fan switch.
You said you had some one remove the switch and move the outlet.

Where did the outlet come from? Was there an outlet next to the switch in the same box?

Recently ceiling fan manufacturers have started making fans with remote controls and without a pull chain. Other than that all fans have a pull chain.

Clarify these things and we can probably tell you how to connect the switch.

Amateur DIY · Aug 19, 2012, 10:14 PM

The original switch on the fan was for the fan only. The fan (which is probably from the 70's or 80's) did not have a light on it. I opened up the fan tonight and saw 1 ground, 1 green, 2 blacks, and 2 whites. One of the black/white combos was labeled as the light and the other black/white combo was labeled as the fan. The black/white combo for the lights was not hooked in anywhere and just hanging free since there is no light on the current fan.

The good news (to me) is that I'll be able to replace the fan with a newer fan that also has a light. The bad news is that I still don't know how to connect either a future light or current fan to a switch in the wall.

To answer the questions above, the original outlet/switch were singular and fan only. There wasn't anything additional next to it. However, there is a junction box in the attic that I discovered while crawling through the cobwebs. I do not know what's inside the box, but its labeled as 'fan' so... The original switch and outlet were simply on the other side of an opening.

Hope that helps?

hkstroud · Aug 20, 2012, 06:30 AM

If the switch box, (no outlet seems to be involve here) only has a 3-wire cable with ground, as described above, connect the white and black to the switch, cap red with a wire nut. If that does no work, remove the black from the switch and connect the red.

What you have is a switch loop. The white is used to bring power to the switch and one of the other wires is used to take power back to the fan. Right now we don't know which.

It is the common practice (and now a requirement by NEC) to use the white to bring power to the switch location.
That practice may or may not have been followed in your wiring. If you have a meter you can test each wire for voltage to the ground. Connect the wire with voltage and one of the other wires to the switch.

If you do not have a meter, you can connect any two wires and see what works. Nothing bad will happen.

The good news is that if you decide to replace the fan with a fan/light combination, you can add a second switch and use the remaining wire to control the light.