I have bought a FAN/LIGHT dimmer switch in lieu of the regular switch with the pull chains on my fan/light combo. I haven't even started with the switch portion where I have red wires and one thick black one. I am still working on the damn pull chain to NON pull chain setup now.

I have this same setup in another bedroom and tried to follow everything to a tee... here is what I know as far as wiring goes:

I have three thick cords from ceiling BLUE (blu-c), BLACK (blk-c), WHITE (wh-c) then they are also accompanied by four thinner wires from ceiling as well GREY (gr-c), ORANGE, (or-c), YELLOW (yel-c) and RED (red-c).

What I am posting is the same as I followed from my WORKING setup in the other bedroom.

Yel-c is connected to two other yellow wires going to the reverse switch
Or-c is connected to two other orange wires going to the reverse switch
Wh-c is connected to a white to the reverse and the white to the light
Blu-c is connected to the black to light
Gr-c and the blk-c are connected to the gray going to the reverse
Red-c is just hanging around because I am clueless now.

I had a three wire capacitor (and still have it) with brown, red, and purple that I disabled from the original pull chain switch. This is where I am stuck. In my other setup I have a TWO wire capacitor with a red and white wires going to the red-c and the white wires.

How can I use this 3 wire capacitor LIKE the 2 wire and then connect the dimmer switch??

This is by far the most difficult thing I have ever come across. I give MAJOR kudos to any electrical engineer and electrician because I can save human lives in the ER, but can't figure this out for the life of me!! PLEASE HELP!

Leave the pullchains alone. You don't remove them, you just leave them set to high.

What if the switches are off (yes, because I took them off) and feel it is a PAIN IN THE to get the clips and switches back together again. Is there a workaround?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tceveny

How can I use this 3 wire capacitor LIKE the 2 wire and then connect the dimmer switch?!?!

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I see you have 20/20 hindsight now.

Take the cap which has a common and two other wires. Twist the other two wires together. This is a 2 wire capacitor wired for high speed.

KISS, this is not always the case, and that advice could damage their fan.

Best thing to do is just to put them back the way they were originally.

Ceilingfanrepair:

In this case I disagree with you. Here is schematics of typical ceiling fans:

Ceiling Fand wiring Diagrams

KISS

First off... yes KISS 20/20 hindsight, I again thought I could do this seeing that my other fan/light combo is identical and works perfectly minus the whole 3 wire vs 2 wire capacitor. And feel I have come across to the point of no return. LOL

Ceilingfanrepair - You say to put it back the way it was... easier said then done. Plus I don't want to leave the switch connected... kind of schmultzy in my eyes. I would like the work a round. I tried figuring out the little clips on the pull chain switch..! Again, I can put together a crash victim with two broken legs and a fractured skull... but this stuff!?

KISS - That is THE BEST SCHEMATIC EVER. And I will try your combining idea. So I will ask if the BROWN & PURPLE from the cap twist together then connect to the white-celing and the RED goes to the ceiling red. I guess if all else fails I will have to try to find a 2 wire capacitor to purchase and use that. That too has been a tough task (went to all home improvement stores, specialty electronic stores and will try mom&pop stores next) - hence the question!

Capacitance values add when they are put in parallel. So suppose you have a three lead 3 uf, a 2 uf capacitor. Since these are AC capacitors, polarity doesn't matter. To be consistent with a normal fan the twisted ends should go toward the line.

In MOST fans (not all)

Low speed selects the 2 uf, medium the 3 uf and high the parallel combination 3uf+2uf or 5 uf capacitor.

Those schematics are somewhat difficult to understand, especially what the switches do.

You won't find the caps locally. Lowe's -No, Home depot - no, electrical supply stores - no. You can get them online. CeilingFanParts.com - Switchco Products - Capacitors

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeepItSimpleStupid

Ceilingfanrepair:

In this case I disagree with you. Here is schematics of typical ceiling fans:

Ceiling Fand wiring Diagrams

KISS

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KISS, please stick to what you know about. What you are stating, and these diagrams, are true for SOME fans but not all. Without a schematic of his specific fans, there is no way of knowing if they would apply or not, and if they do not, it could damage the fan. You can end up with a capacitor value much higher than what was designed which can burn out the motor.

If the OP wants to try it, he can. It may work. Or, it may work, but the fan run slower or faster than it is supposed to. I gave the best advice that applies to all fans and won't damage anything.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tcerveny

So I will ask if the BROWN & PURPLE from the cap twist together then connect to the white-celing and the RED goes to the ceiling red.[/B] I guess if all else fails I will have to try to find a 2 wire capacitor to purchase and use that. That too has been a tough task (went to all home improvement stores, specialty electronic stores and will try mom&pop stores next) - hence the question!!

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When you say ceiling red, you mean the one from the motor, or actually from the ceiling wiring that supplies power to the fan?

This wiring does not sound like a good idea, but I would need to know how everything was connected originally to be sure.

There are HUNDREDS of different ways ceiling fans are wired. These online schematics piss me off, because they are RARELY the same as whatever fan people are trying to fix. People try to use them and end up messing things up worse.

In order to appease CFR, put a 100 W light bulb in series with the fan. If it glows brightly ten there is something wrong.

A good idea, but it probably won't tell us what we need to know. The difference in current draw will probably not be that obvious.

The only effective way to test capacitor value is to know the rated amperage of the motor, and use an amp meter. If it exceeds the rated amperage even slightly the capacitor value is too high.

But this is getting too complicated.

As stated above, if the original poster wants to trust questionable advice, he can try what you stated. As I said, it MAY work.

Yea, but I think that's the wrong problem. I either think he has the original or or wants a 2 lead capacitor because they are smaller. It's only a guess.

My understanding, he has the original, and was attempting to wire the fan without the pullchain switch.

This could have been accomplished by determining what pullchain contacts were connected together for the high speed setting, and then connecting those wires together. USUALLY it's L and 1 but some switches use other combinations.

L - Gray, 1 - Purple, 2 - brown, 3 - black. You could just ask since I wrote it all down. LOL

Then for a 3 speed fan and a 3 lead capacitor, this seems fishy. This wiring config seems more like your fan with the single value capacitor.

Should I just buy a 2 wire and give it a go?? I do not want to cause anymore unwanted ego banter.

Case #1 (4 wire switch)
How does the switch behave?
off = 1,2,3 no connection to L
1 = connection L to 1
2= connection L to 2
3 = connection L to 3

If this is the case, then it looks like windings are selected.

Case #2 (3 wire switch)
off = 1,2,3 no connection to L
1 = connection L to 1
2= connection L to 2
3 = connection L to 1 and 2

This suggests the capacitors get switched and in parallel.

It was Case #1

A 3-wire cap and a case #1 switch doesn't make any sense.

Even the link provided shows a case #2 switch for a 3 wire capacitor.

Are you sure the switch was from the 3 wire cap fan and not the first one?