If you would read down on all the replys below you will find the answer to your problem. The issue lies with the switch you bought. Even though the switch looks the same on the outside, it is not the same on the inside. Therefore with the wrong switch the fan will just hum like you found out. Home Depot has two different types of switches. They both look the same on the outside, but only the right one will work your fan and the wrong one will make it just hum. Since there are so many different fans out there, it's possible you fan may use a different switch than the two the Home Depot sales. Good luck.

These people are very helpful. They know the switches and have a good stock of the harder to find items.

http://www.ceilingfanparts.com/

I was able to fix my old Walmart fan with a four wire switch after researching this site and others. The switch I used was from Home Depot and was a Westinghouse Part Number 77020.

Home Depot had this switch and number 77021 on the same peg but the 77021 would not work. That switch along with the ones from Walmart and an electrical supply store just make the fan motor hum.

The wiring for my fan was:

L = Orange (fan direction switch)
1 = Purple (black capacitor box)
2 = Yellow (black capacitor box)
3 = Black (Hot)

After wasting half a day running to a number of stores I hope that this helps someone out.

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Originally Posted by rdsatkaycee

Update and I hope this can help someone. I also tried to replace my about 10 year old Hampton Bay ceiling fan switch. So went to Home Depot and dint work. Wound up trying 3 of the same and to no avail. The sales people were of course no help. Finally called their help desk and had to dig out the model number and they said the company was no longer in business. I spent quite a bit of time on the inernet. Last Monday I'll bet I spent $15.00 in gas going to several electrical shops to no avail. Somewhere along the line I found out how to check the continuity and found the switch is: off, 3(hot)+1+2+L=High, 3+2+L=medium, and 3+1+L =low.
I had given up on finding the switch. I read somewhere here that if you connect all four wires together you will have high speed. So I figured at the very least I could do this, then put a standard 2 way pull chain between the hot wire just to turn it off and on.
So off to home depot to get the two way chain pull. While there I reviewed fan switches and noticed there was another three or four wire fan switch. HD personnel of course did not even talk about it the other day. So bought both of the pull chains and at home carefullly opened up the 4 position and then checked it with my volt meter and lo and behold. It was corrrect. Put that sucker in the fan and now its purring like a kitten; all 3 speeds.
FYI, the switch that did not work was Westinghouse 77021 and the one that works is 77020.
Hope this helps someone.

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rdsatkaycee--your solution was spot on! I am fortunate that I bought both part numbers at my Home Depot. They cost approx. $4.50 each. I installed the 4-wire (77021) first, because my fan switch has 4 wires. After turning power back on and checking the switch, nothing happened except for "the hum" on one position. I then installed the "3-wire 77020" per your tip and it worked perfectly.
Thank you for posting your solution, you saved me a lot of certain grief.

Some of you may be old enough to remember a song called "Yes, I Remember It Well" which was made popular by Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold. In it the husband reminisces about the couple's early years. It goes something like this. The husband sings, "We met in spring", (the wife) "It was the fall." (the husband) "It was at the park", (the wife) "It was at the mall", (the husband) "Ah, yes, I remember it well!" Where does this lead to? A few days ago when my fan switch problem started the first thing I thought of was what brand of fan was it, where did I get it and could I get a replacement switch there? Couldn't remember the brand but was sure I bought them at Home Depot. Tonight it dawned on me- there was no Home Depot where I live when I bought the fans 25 years ago. When I mentioned it to the wife she said- "Of course not, we got them at Pergament." Sometimes I should listen to her. A few nights ago I noticed the bedroom fan was a little noisy and commented on it and how I'd hate to have to go up there and replace it with something that probably wouldn't just install or fit like the old one does. The wife said- "It works fine, just leave it alone!" I should have kept my mouth shut. The next night when I went to shut off the living room fan it went from high to medium to low to off to chain came off in my hand. That's where the story starts.

Got the 8 foot ladder out and the switch came out really easy. Remove the bulbs, light shades and light assembly and the switch was right there. Remove 4 wire nuts (after noting which color wires were attached to each other) and the knurled nut holding the switch to the fixture and it was out. Switch in hand I was off to Home Depot because that's where I thought I bought it and figured they would have the switch for it. On the way there I passed an electrical supply house. Hey, if anyone would have one of these things it would be an electrical supply house. "Sorry, just ran out of them and ordered them this morning." OK, on to Home Depot. Passed the local hardware store which has always had a good selection of things and unlike the big box stores, in stock! They had switches but nothing like mine. On to Home Depot. Space for a 3 speed fan switch but nothing there. Ask the clerk, "We have them." After checking the rack "I thought we had them." Any stock? "I'm sure we do." After checking- "Sorry, the box is there but someone put the wrong switches in it, we're out of them. You could try a (another) electrical supply house but they probably close at 3 or 4." It was 4:35 PM and not really out of my way so I took a chance. Got there a few minutes before closing at 5. "No problem, we have them right here." Yours only has 3 wires, mine has 4. "Guess we don't have them."

That night the Internet search started. Using the information on the switch the only place I found them was on eBay but the seller was on vacation until July 11th and it's hot now! During my further search I came upon a number of sites, including this one, that provided me with a lot of good information. The main thing I learned was that a lot of people were having problems finding these types of switches. The big problem is that just because a switch looks like another switch and may even carry the same part numbers on it there is no guarantee that the internal circuits of the switch are the same and will work in your application.

My fans are 3 speed- off, high, medium, low, off is the sequence. I think they may be Hunter brand but don't quote me on it. As indicated I didn't even remember where I bought them. The switch is black and white plastic. The white half is marked- ZING EAR ZE-208S, has a reverse RU logo on it, E-89885 3A-250VAC 6A-125VAC. The black half is marked ZING EAR with the number 1 in a circle. Looking at the black half with the pull chain hole at the top there are markings on the back where 4 wires are inserted into it. It is marked 1 with a gray wire at the 12 o'clock position, L with a black wire at the 3 o'clock position, 3 with a purple wire at the 6 o'clock position and 2 with a pinkish brown wire at the 9 o'clock position. All 4 wires were connected to the same color wires coming out of the fan with wire nuts. The gray wire was connected to 2 gray wires coming out of the fan.

ZING EAR apparently makes most if not all of these switches. From what I've read on these boards even though they may carry the same part numbers the internal circuits of the switches may be different. The colors of the housing may be an indication of that as may be the number in the circle. You may want to browse these pages FYI-

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http://www.zingear.com/Templates/En/ProductList.aspx?typeid=34

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http://www.shemoilighting.com/PULL_SWITCH.HTML

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In reading these boards several switches seemed of interest in that they might work for me.

The Mainstays Ceiling Fan 3-Speed Switch at WalMart. This got me because it comes with 4 wires in the same color that my switch had. I did not check it out because there are no WalMarts near me.

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http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Ceiling-Fan-3-Speed-Switch/16913740

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The Harbor Breeze 600-Watt Black 3-Speed Rotary Ceiling Fan Control # 0033905 at Lowe's. Someone mentioned it but it is no longer available at Lowe's. I went to Lowe's but they had no 3 speed switches in stock at all.

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http://www.lowes.com/pd_33905-1811-FSW1_4294722444__?productId=3128675&Ns=p_product_price%7C0&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_price%7C0&facetInfo=

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Someone said ACE Hardware has the right switch but I could not find anything on their web site. My local hardware store is ACE affiliated and they had nothing similar to my switch.

Home Depot has 2 switches people mentioned- the Westinghouse 77020 and the Westinghouse 77021. Someone said the 77020 worked and not the 77021, someone said the 77021 worked but not the 77020. I decided to go to a different Home Depot and get one of each to see which of them, if any, would work for me. Of course with my luck, when I got there they had neither of them on the rack. The clerk checked and said that both of them had just come in today but had not been put out yet. He checked to see if he could get them for me but unfortunately they were still on the truck and would not be unloaded until tomorrow. Now here's where it gets interesting.

There was one other Westinghouse 3 speed switch on the rack, the Westinghouse 77286. The clerk had checked to see if they had any 77020s or 77021s in inventory on the floor. The computer showed they did but they could not be found. But what he did notice was that the Westinghouse 77286 had the same SKU number as the 77021. I also noticed that the 77286 was a ZING EAR switch and the card carried the same E89885 number that was on my actual switch. As the 77020 and 77021 would not be available until the next evening (if they were really there, we've all been through that before), for $4.25 I took home the 77286 just to play with.

At home using a test meterI was able to determine that the 77286 circuitry functioned as follows:
OFF- none of the 4 terminals are connected.
1st POSITION (assume HIGH)- L and 1 only are connected
2nd POSITION (assume MEDIUM)- L and 2 only are connected
3rd POSITION (assume LOW)- L and 3 only are connected
Back to OFF- none of the 4 terminals are connected

Several people suggested that the only way to find the proper replacement switch was to check how your switch functions electrically. Unfortunately for most of us that could not be done as the pull chain had broken off rendering the switch inoperable. But since the switch doesn't work anyway why not open it and check it out and that's what I did. Drilling off the rivet heads with a Dremel tool and small bit was easy. The rivets are in there tight and had to be pushed out with a very small awl or jewelers screwdriver. Once out the halves come apart easily. Don't worry about the half with the pull chain hole, you don't need it. But be gentle with the half the wires come out of, you want everything in it to remain intact to test it.

Make yourself a chart- 4 columns across by 6 rows down. For now label the columns 1, 2, 3 and 4 (later you will change them to OFF, HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW as appropriate). Label the rows L-1, L-2, L-3, 1-2, 1-3 and 2-3.

Take resistance reading with your meter (you can get cheap ones at Radio Shack, always good to have one) between the 2 terminals indicated in the chart rows. If they're connected indicate CC on the chart for closed circuit or if they're not connected OC for open circuit. Do this for all 6 rows in the first column.

Now in the center of the switch half with the contacts there is a wheel with 4 raised edges (my wheel was red). Place the blade of a small screwdriver against one of the raised edges and gently push it until it snaps into the next position. Take your readings for this position of the wheel. Do this (rotate the wheel and take readings) 4 times. The 5th time you take readings they should match your 1st readings. If they don't try the whole process again, you might have pushed the center wheel too far or not enough at some point.

When you have all of your 4 column readings complete look for the column with all OCs. That should be your OFF position, relabel the column as such. If your fan sequence is OFF-HIGH-MEDIUM-LOW relabel the columns in that sequence or whatever sequence your fan operates in.

Now whatever switch you purchase make the same test on it (DO NOT TAKE IT APART- use the pull chain to rotate through the positions). When you find a switch with the same readings it should work for you.

What happened with my Westinghouse 77286 switch? The readings matched my switch and it works just like my old switch. It's a little stiff when you pull it but that may be just because it's new, my old ones are 25 years old. Think I'll buy a few spares while they have them.

Hope this information helps others. Good luck finding the switch you need.

I had the same problem. I noticed at HD that there were two different kinds of 3 speed ceiling fan switches. The 2 types are: single and a dual capacitor. (The guy there couldn't tell me the difference so I bought both) The single capacitor one didn't work even though it looked just the same, so I tried the dual. It worked like a charm. It looks a little different, but worked.

Hi All, I appreciate this forum. I have an older ceiling fan. Not sure of the manufacturer. It is a 3 speed 4 wire switch. L=Black 1 =Purple 2=Brown 3=Gray.

The only switch that would make it work correctly I bought at Lowe's. Harbor Breeze part # 0033905. Hope that this helps! JJ

Our Hampton Bay fan switch broke and was stuck on high. We went to Lowe's and brought a Harbor Breeze 3 speed fan switch. Part # 003905. We changed it and wired as #1=Gray, #2 = Brown, #3 = Purple, and L = Black.
Works just fine with all three speeds :) Hope this helps someone out there!

Just went through this PITA with my ceiling fan. Googled the issue and was led to this site. After much trouble and some choice words along with a wasted trip to HD for a incompatible switch I got it working. With a lot of patience and frustration I was able to take apart the switch and connect the chain back up with a link from parts from another fan which remote controlled. All good now except when I was all done the wife who was helping me at said "darn now we have to live with that old fan again! I was hoping to get a new one"! Talk about mixed emotions - Oh well I just laughed it off and grinned while putting my tools away. And a little pat on the back for myself. Cheers

Oh BTW I learned (from other posts here) that if nothing else you can permanently have it locked on any of the 3 speeds by connecting the black (hot) wire to any of the 3. You'll see it change speeds as you change from one to the other.