I just recently replaced a 4-wire (3-speed)
Ceiling fan switch on my ceiling fan. The chain had broken off inside the switch.
After installing the new switch, the fan wouldn't turn
At all. I have tried the swithes at all speeds
And even went out and purchased another switch thinking the first one I bought may have been defective. I am certain I have the new switch wired the same as the old one as I cut off and restripped the wires (so the wires were still on the old switch).
The fan still won't turn (however I can hear a hum in one of the switch positions).

Am I missing something here? I am really stumped.

PS. I've seen this same questions in other bulletin boards... But no fixes were offered. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boojumm

I just recently replaced a 4-wire (3-speed)
ceiling fan switch on my ceiling fan. The chain had broken off inside the switch.
After installing the new switch, the fan wouldn't turn
at all. I have tried the swithes at all speeds
and even went out and purchased another switch thinking the first one I bought may have been defective. I am certain I have the new switch wired the same as the old one as I cut off and restripped the wires (so the wires were still on the old switch).
The fan still won't turn (however I can hear a hum in one of the switch positions).

Am I missing something here? I am really stumped.

PS. I've seen this same questions in other bulletin boards... But no fixes were offered. :(

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... worked, prove to yourself that you wired the others the same by putting the old back in. I'd offer more but in the absence of a wiring diagram, this is where I would start.

I am confused about the 4 wires. You should have 2 white wires connected to each other and not the switch, 2 green or bare likewise, and one hot in and 2 wires out, for 3 wires to the switch. It is possible the new switch is not the same internally as the old. Was it sold specifically for the fan, or just a switch?

Did the fan run at any speed with the old switch? If so, use a multimeter or conductivity tester to find out which wires are connected in what ever position it is stuck in. Then remove the new switch, and connect those wires without it. If the fan still doesn't run, the problem is other than the switch.

Did not work as the chain broke off inside. The wires were in this order. Purple to the "L" connector, Black to the "1" connector, Brown to the "2" connector, and Grey to the "3" connector. The new switch is identical to the old one from the outside... I guess it could be different inside. I obtained it from Home Depot and the staff there seemed knowledgeable and pointed me to this one. When I thought it was defective, I returned it and purchased another at Lowe's... Same problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boojumm

did not work as the chain broke off inside. The wires were in this order. Purple to the "L" connector, Black to the "1" connector, Brown to the "2" connector, and Grey to the "3" connector. The new switch is identical to the old one from the outside... I guess it could be different inside. I obtained it from Home Depot and the staff there seemed knowledgeable and pointed me to this one. When I thought it was defective, I returned it and purchased another at Lowe's... Same problem.

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... comfortable with some experiments, you can shut the main power (wall switch or panel breaker) and connect the black wire (line hot) to one of the motor wires at a time to check that it works correctly. One side of the motor should already be wire nutted to the line neutral (white wire). Use a small wire nut to make the connections with the power removed and then use the switch (?) to reapply power briefly to check the fan.

I did that and the motor will run so I know the motor coils are good. I'm starting to think the new switch is wired differently inside... 4 connections is how many combinations... That may be my next step.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boojumm

I did that and the motor will run so I know the motor coils are good. I'm starting to think the new switch is wired differently inside... 4 connections is how many combinations..... That may be my next step.

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... is for the common input (hot line). The others (assuming it is the simplest of switches) allow for:
1. None connected to the common (off)
2. 1 set of windings (low speed)
3. 2 sets of windings (medium speed)
4. 3 sets of windings (Full speed)
There are many combos and if you don't have a continuity tester use a flashlight, remove the end cap and start checking the switch (write it down) by connecting the common to the battery end, and the other wires to the battery end connector while 'yanking your chain' and checking the flashlight for ‘on’.

You need to figure out how the old switch worked and find a new one that works the same way. I have not found Lowe's and Home Depot employees helpful on anything but the basics. You could check with the manufacturer of the fan, their tech service line or web site. You could take the old switch to an electrical supply house and see if they can match it. You could take the switch apart and try to figure out how it worked yourself. Drill out any rivets holding it together and carefully pry it apart. There may be spring loaded parts inside. If they fly everywhere, it makes it harder to figure out. Perhaps you could even replace the chain, and put it back together replacing the rivet with a small screw.

I too have encounter the same problem when replacing the three speed swithc on a Hampton Bay fan. I have even looked at two other Hampton Bay fans just to make sure I rewired correctly. Three fans, three different wiring!
I believe that I have a switch with different internal workings. If anyone figures out which wires goies to the L, 1, 2, 3 positions please let me know.

If you are getting electricity to the motor (hum), you probably have a fan capacitor problem. The capacitor is packaged in a little black box inside the switch housing and it has either 2 or 3 wires. Be sure to get the markings off the capacitor (eg. 2uf + 7uf [3 wire] or 5uf [2 wire]) You will probably have to go to an electrical warehouse to get this part. I've found that Lowe's and Home Depot don't carry this part. It will run about $7-$10
Hope this helps.

http://www.regencyfan.com/help/faq/?FAQ=3

:D OK... I've exhausted trying to fix this fan... Metered out the switch. Its OK. Bypassed the reverse swith and capacitors... I'm convinced I have an open motor winding and its not worth wasting any more time on this. Here's the good news. I found Hampton Bay's Tech Support Hotline number at 800-749-3267. I called them and they said if I supplied the UPC # from the top of the fan, they'd send me the part I needed. As my fan is too old for the UPC number, they said they'd send me a $50 gift certificate from Home Depot to use how I want. I think that's very fair! I'm waiting for the gift check to arrive in the mail (if I don't get it, I'll report back). Good luck!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Home Depot to start the same process. Went to turn on the fan, and the pull-chain was stuck. I opened up the light box and removed the pull-chain switch. Found that the plastic rotor inside cracked and jammed the switch. I found this thread and decided to meter the switch. I have four spring type wire connections. L-1-2-3.

Off : X
High : L-1
Med : L-2-3
Low : L-3

I didn't expect the Medium setting, but it makes sense looking at the load block. Position 1 connects straight through. Position 2 and 3 are each labeled as 5 uF and are used in parallel for Medium.

Found this site that has a diagram of the switch in my Fan

http://www.dansfancity.com/techhelp/parts/sw300nn.htm

Well Tec 108
--
Rick

Hi, my chain broke while the fan was in op, and so it was stuck in one setting. So I know the motor & capacitor are OK.

I bought another similar 3-speed switch from OSH, marked all the old wires. I stripped the wire to expose some metal wiring and stuffed them into the switch. They were quite loose. And the fan doesn't work.

My question is, was I supposed to strip the rubber off? Also, there are four slits on the bottom of the switch. Was I supposed to leave the wire as it is without stripping off the rubber, insert the wires in, and push into the slit using a screwdriver and it will cut a contact into the wire. THere were no instructions on the switch so I had no clue until after I put in a wire. Any help is greatly appreciated.

George H.

Examine the switch. Some connectors are designed to swing open, insert the unstripped wires, and squeeze it closed. Very quick and easy once you figure it out.

My daughter called me the other day and said Dad the ceiling fan in the kitchen is not working only the light works. I went over and removed the three screws that hold the light and pull chain for the fan down and found that the fan control switch had snapped open and all 4 wires had popped out. The snap clips on each side of the switch had broken off. I went down to Home Depot in the ceiling department and found the switch I was looking for. It said for a four wire ceiling fan. OK, know lets put it back together. First of all if you look at the new switch you should see four holds were the wires will be pushed into. The black wire in the fan is the hot or load wire, this wire is hot whenever the wall switch to the fan is turned on. Put this wire in the hole that is marked “L” this stands for load. Now with this switch in the off position the fan will not work until you pull the chain. The other three holes are marked #1, #2 and #3. On most fans #1 is usually high speed. # 2 medium and #3 low speed. What you now have to determine is what wires are high medium and low. The easiest way to do this is before you put any of the wires back into the new switch is to FIRST MAKE SURE NO POWER IS GOING TO THE FAN. Then simply take one of the colored wires at a time and twist it together with the black hot wire.
Turn the power back on to the fan and knot the fans speed. Do this with all three wires one at a time until you can determine which wire is high speed. Note the color of the wire and mark it down on paper.(Example; blue wire high speed.) Do this with the other two wires to determine there speed. Once you have the speed of each wire you can reassemble the new switch.

Black wire (Load) goes in hole marked L. High speed wire goes in hole marked # 1. Medium speed goes in hole marked #2 and low speed goes in hole # 3. MAKE SURE THE POWER TO THE FAN IS TURNED OFF WHILE YOU ASSEMBLE THE NEW SWITCH.

For those of you that have all these wired hooked up right and still the fan won't work I would then look for an open neutral wire. It should be a white wire. Check to see if all the wires are securly attached.

Good luck. One more word of advice. If you're not sure on what you are doing when it comes to electrical wiring then please do not attempt to do this or any other electrical work yourself. Call a licensed electrian. Any mistakes on your part could void your home owners insurance in case of a fire. Better safe than sorry.

I read you post and I need to replace the piece that is in the fan that the pull chain is connected to... the piece is: K.T.E. 250 vac is that the same as you replaced and if so where do I get it? Thanks

tracker 153

The pull chain came out of our fan switch so I opened up the fan and removed the old switch (using a paper clip) making sure to write down the wire colors and their locations (Was L-Purple, 1-Black, 2-Grey, 3-Brown). I went to HD and found the only 4 wire, 3 speed switch they carried and installed it back into the fan but it did not work. I called the Hampton Bay support #, which is a joy to find, and they directed me to a company called Compass East (CEI). I called CEI and some kid said to try a different combination but that did not work either. Seeing that we have several Hampton Bay fans in my house, I removed a switch from a fan in an area that was lower in priority and installed it in our bedroom fan. This worked for the night, well, sort of, it gave me low and medium only but it was better then nothing. So needless to say, I then started to search the internet for ideas and...

That's when I read this thread and saw your repsonse. I went back on the ladder for the third night in a row (and, of course, it's been very hot and humid the whole time) and tried your suggestion of connecting wires together to find out which speeds were what. Here's what I have found:

Black, purple, grey = slow
Black, purple, brown = medium
Black, purple, brown, grey = fast

So I called that kid back at CEI (1.800.233.3306) wondering if they had a switch that fit this pattern and he said they only have what I would get at HD.

ARG!

So, anyone know where to get a 3 speed fan switch that fits that pattern?

Anyone, Anyone... Bueller.

I don't quite understand what you mean when you say the switch from HD didn't work? Were the speeds not right, or did the fan not run at all? It sounds like all you need is a simple 4 position switch. Try a hardware or Radio Shack. Don't say anything about the fan, just ask for a 4 position switch, off and 3 other contacts.

HD switch didn't work = no fan movement what-so-ever.

Thanks for the other idea. I'll give it a try.

Actually,

I found exactly what I need (HD didn't have it in stock)... see this link

http://acmehardware.com/pd-5824602-F...an-Switch.aspx

Notice the Description:

Model 21105:

3-speed Single layer Basic 4-wire application Split continuity function Operation sequence: Off, 3-L-1-2, 3-L-2, 3-L-1 UL listed

It matches my findings.

Switch ordered... that should do it.

Thanks

I had the same problem with the switch I bought. Problem was, HD only had one kind of SINGLE layer and one kind of double layer switches. For those with the DOUBLE layer switch problem you have to find a switch with a sequence of operation like this: ( or similar) 1-2-3 OFF
2-3-L High
3-L-1 Med
L-1-2 Low
Note that there are three terminals listed instead of two, this is because the old broken switch has a cam inside that touches three terminals unlike the new one that only touches two.
If you can't find the proper replacement switch ( and I searched a lot of internet sites) you may be able to carefully drill the old switch rivets ( this is for practice before drilling the new switch) and separate the layers to take out the old cam. Then drill the new switch carefully so as not to crack it. Take out the 2 position cam and replace it with the old 3 position cam. Line up the layers and replace the rivets with a length of paperclip, twisting the ends to make it snug but not overtightening it causing it to break.
Worked perfectly.

Simply cut out the bad switch leaving 4 wires (blk, grn, gray, brn)

Wire them together using electricians tape and cap

Reinstall ---fan should be running on high speen now! If not you have another problem elsewhere.

Go out and buy a dimmer switch and installal at wall where fan/lite turns on.

Now you have total control, only lite will dimm as does fan, slight drawback

So work around it or your other alternative is to buy a new fan OK

I am having same symptoms and problems that you report. The old switch literally fell to pieces so that I can't figure out exactly what it did. I put in a simple 4 pole switch from HD, and had only one speed (fast) in one position; others were stop. But HD also had the split continuity switch as you describe: pos 1=off, pos 2=3-L-1-2; pos 3=3-L-2; pos 4=3-L-1. Result was fast fan speed in 3 positions, and off in the other. This fan has a capacitor type speed control in it and I think is a FASCO Gulfstream circa 1993.

Maybe some other configuration switch needed?
---:confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doiturslf4

Actually,

I found exactly what I need (HD didn't have it in stock)...see this link

http://acmehardware.com/pd-5824602-F...an-Switch.aspx

Notice the Description:

Model 21105:

3-speed Single layer Basic 4-wire application Split continuity function Operation sequence: Off, 3-L-1-2, 3-L-2, 3-L-1 UL listed

It matches my findings.

Switch ordered....that should do it.

Thanks

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miamibeachjohn

Simply cut out the bad switch leaving 4 wires (blk, grn, gray, brn)

wire them together using electricians tape and cap

reinstall ---fan should be running on high speen now! if not you have another problem elsewhere.

Go out and buy a dimmer switch and installal at wall where fan/lite turns on.

now you have total control, only lite will dimm as does fan, slight drawback

so work around it or your other alternative is to buy a new fan ok

---

As a follow up:

My fan now works fine except there is a slight buzzing sound at faster speeds
Does any one know why or how to correct this

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by miamibeachjohn

Simply cut out the bad switch leaving 4 wires (blk, grn, gray, brn)

wire them together using electricians tape and cap

reinstall ---fan should be running on high speen now! if not you have another problem elsewhere.

Go out and buy a dimmer switch and installal at wall where fan/lite turns on.

---

Cap all four wires together? Use a dimmer switch? This is bad advice! Both of these things can damage your fan, and even catch your house on fire.

The only option for ANY of the above pullchain problems.. . Is to carefully note how you removed the broken switch, find an exact replacement, and wire the new switch in the way the old switch was. Anything else, and you're better off just getting a new fan.

Sites like www.ceilingfanparts.com should be able to tell you what sort of switch you need. Some local hardware stores have a good selection, some do not.

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/c...-fan-parts.php has more info on ceiling fan parts including pullchains

Good news for the masses: I have finally gotten around to writing a set of instructions on replacing the pullchain in a ceiling fan. This should answer most questions, at least the answerable ones!

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/c...and-repair.php

Hello-
Well I took the advice on some of the posts below and contacted King of Fans directly vian the phone (Hampton Bay's Tech Support Hotline number at 800-749-3267) and they sent me a replacement switch.
Lo and Behold, it works!
It turns out that the switches from the local hardware stores are not the same.
Call them and get yourself a new switch.

I'm glad it worked for you. There are many different types of pullchain switches that look pretty much the same. The hardware stores sell the most common varieties.

I have this exact problem. I determined that the old switch has normally closed switch positions rather than normally open that the replacement switch has. I need to know where to buy the normally closed type of switch.

Thanks,
b-dog

Some hardware stores have a variety, or you can try the manufacturer of your fan. Otherwise www.ceilingfanparts.com has a good selection of switches reasonably.

When the pull cord came out of my 3-spd ceiling fan I replaced the switch. The wires in the fan were soldered and I just pushed them firmly into the propers slots on the side of the switch... turned the thing on and nothing... I jiggled the wires a little bit and that was the problem... even though they are firmly in the slots its very easy for them to not connect on the inside...

Just try jiggling the wires around a bit and it will probably work

That won't solve the problem when the chain breaks, and/or when it is replaced with an incorrect replacement switch.

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/c...and-repair.php

Hello,

I had EXACTLY the same problem today, i.e.:

- Fan switch failed
- Replaced with 4-wire Home Depot switch
- Fan doesn't run and "hums" in one switch position

I took both switches apart and found that, as one poster has already mentioned, the old switch had NORMALLY CLOSED contacts, and the new one had NORMALLY OPEN contacts.

The good news is that the parts that differ are, with a little modification, interchangeable between the two switches - even though they don't look as if they had the same manufacturer. So if you're prepared to do a little filing, you can fix it TODAY (as I did).

What I did (after writing down which color wires went to L, 1, 2 & 3, as appropriately emphasized above) was to open up each switch by drilling the flared ends off the two aluminum rivets of the old one, and by prying the black plastic "keepers" over the white plastic "clips" on the new one (a little tricky - do it carefully lest you stab yourself or break the plastic beyond repair). The switches will break into two parts, which I'll call the "pullchain/tumbler" half and the "armature/contacts" half.

Then, I removed the red "armature" from the new switch's armature/contact half, and the black one from the same half of the old switch, noting which way they faced. You'll see that each armature has a square hole on one side; this is what is driven by the "pullchain/tumbler" half of each switch, and so faces outward from the case when reassembled.

These armatures are what differ. If you look at them carefully, you'll see that in the old switch, the common brush is connected to all but one of the other contacts at all times, and that in the new one, the common connects to only one other contact at a time. You should also see that the old armature is a little longer than the new one, which prevents interchanging them - unless you shorten the old one a bit.

What I did, which worked, was to line up an imaginary line between the upper and lower contacts on each armature, then file the old (black) one as necessary on each end so that it was the same length as the new one. I then installed the filed old armature in the new switch case, snapped it back together, wired it up as it was previously wired, and tested it... All good!

Summary, Sounds like differernt internal switching, Direct replacement best,
Like above, Carefully take apart, so you can switch, Do continuity test.
I believe 1 of the switches, does L+1+2, L+1+3, L+2+3, off.
Since Fan worked before, Switch likely problem.

It can be done, I've done it before, but I find it easier simply to use the correct replacement switch. Then again, I have a large box of switches in my basement.

Your problem is likely to be the capacitor that is wired to the switch. It is usually a small black plastic box with 3 wires (yellow, red, and purple) which is wired to the switch. The small rectangular plastic box has 2 capacitors in it (like 2.25 & 3.3 microfarad caps) and is tucked in the wiring near the pull chain switch). Will cost about $12 at a fan store.

The capacitor failing can create the symptoms you describe however seeing as the fan was working before the pullchain was replaced, it's NOT the capacitor.

Ceiling fan capactors - troubleshooting and resources - Ceiling Fans N More

Can you dissasemble switch, and reinstall chain. Many newer ones can't unless you want to drill rivets. Can be done.

I just recently replaced a 4-wire (3-speed)
Ceiling fan switch on my ceiling fan. The chain had broken off inside the switch.
After installing the new switch, the fan wouldn't turn
At all. I have tried the swithes at all speeds
And even went out and purchased another switch thinking the first one I bought may have been defective. I am certain I have the new switch wired the same as the old one as I cut off and restripped the wires (so the wires were still on the old switch).
The fan still won't turn (however I can hear a hum in one of the switch positions).