I had an existing light in the den which I wanted to replace with a Hampton Bay fan with light kit. Ceiling wiring was ground, black, white, and a second black connected to a red (which I thought was for one of the two wall switches already installed). I've tried several configurations, and while I can almost always get power for the fan (the light is no problem) it never seems to generate enough juice to actually turn the fan unless I give it a nudge, and even then it's slow. I also discovered that the red wire apparently works a wall receptacle, controlled by the wall switch, so I'm guessing that won't have any impact on the fan. I'm fine with just one switch for the fan, which would be used to turn on the light, and I can turn on the fan motor with the pull cord when needed. What is going to make that work? Thanks.

How was the ceiling light wired?

AND, is it on a regular wall switch?

I tired a few wiring methods. First and most simple was blue & black from the fan to black in the ceiling, white to white, green to ground. I left the red and black that were already joined together in the ceiling alone. That leaves one switch on the wall for a receptacle and one switch for the fan & light unit (using a pull chain for the fan). Got power, but not enough. I tried blue to red & black, but that gave me constant power. I'm fine with just the one regular wall switch (has a black and red line out), I just need enough power to turn the blades on demand. Could the problem be the capacitor and not the wiring?

I re-read your response and saw you were asking about the original light. It just had a black, white & ground, each of which matched to a corresponding color in the ceiling. The black and red pair were already connected in the ceiling and weren't used by the light.

Wire the fan the same way the existing light was wired, connecting the fans black AND blue to the wire that the light's black connected to. The fan and life should both work, report back.

That's actually the way I first tried it, but I went back and did it again anyway, exactly as the light was in. I still don't get enough power to turn the fan. You can hear it try, it even moves slightly, but won't just go on its own. The light works fine from the wall switch, and I have constant power at the wall receptacle (which I need for phone and computer), but pulling the chain to start the fan just gets a little hum and no real movement.

I would check the voltage at the black wire in the ceiling. Connect the common wires together in the ceiling box. Run the hot from the ceiling to the switch box to make the loop. Return the wire from each switch to the fan and light. I would try the fan by itself first, without wiring in the light and see what happens. Check the voltage at the fan. There may be a bad capacitor.

That is only what I would do. Be careful, electricity can be dangerous.

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Originally Posted by mad33712

That's actually the way I first tried it, but I went back and did it again anyway, exactly as the light was in. I still don't get enough power to turn the fan. You can hear it try, it even moves slightly, but won't just go on its own. The light works fine from the wall switch, and I have constant power at the wall receptacle (which I need for phone and computer), but pulling the chain to start the fan just gets a little hum and no real movement.

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Sounds like something wrong with the fan. Before you return it, make sure the reverse switch is firmly in the up or down position.

Thanks for the replies and help. I'll take it back and maybe have better luck with another one.