Ask Me Help Desk

Ask Me Help Desk (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forum.php)
-   Electrical & Lighting (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=105)
-   -   Four ceiling fan lights (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=39261)

  • Oct 26, 2006, 03:03 PM
    KZ1
    Four ceiling fan lights
    Hello. Big dummy here. I took the light fixture down to tighten up the four light fixtures attached thereon and didn't write down the way it was wired up before I unwired it. :o

    So. Here I sit with four groups of wires, one black and one white for each light, on the lower half and hanging from the fan are three wires, two of which extend from a pull chain switch.

    The two coming out from the switch are blue and red. The red one was attached to one of the black wires and the white one that bypasses the switch connected to the group of white wires that were all wire nutted together. I don't quite remember where the blue was connected but I suspect that it was to a black and white combo.?

    <KC decides he has this thing figured out and wires it up thusly>

    Well, maybe not because I hooked up that way, did a spark test and it looked like it was going to work fine. The bulb came on nice and bright, I threw my shoulders back and strutted a bit, but all was for naught as I discovered all was not well with the installation.

    This pull chain switch is set up to turn on different combinations of lights with each pull of the chain. It still does that but just not the combinations it’s supposed to.

    From the off position, one pull of the chain gives you two bright lights, one dim, and yet another that is dimmer still. Give ‘er another yank and the two bright bulbs go dim-one of those eerie haunted house dims-and the former two dim bulbs brighten up. A third pull gives you three bright bulbs and one that doesn’t burn at all unless you run through the cycles three times and then it does the eerie glow thing. Hmmmmm.

    Oh yeah. Just to liven things up a bit, the fan doesn’t work at all now and it was just peachy before this little project began!

    I say all this to say HELP!
  • Oct 26, 2006, 03:21 PM
    ceilingfanrepair
    Ok, let's try this.

    The pullchain should actually have THREE wires coming out of it, but one of them already hooked up. Assuming that is the case:

    Connect the blue wire from the pullchain to the black wires of whatever lights you want to come on with the first pull. Connect the red wire from the pullchain to the black wires of whatever lights you want to come on with the second pull. Connect ALL white wires together, including those from the fan.

    See if everything works now.
  • Oct 26, 2006, 03:47 PM
    KZ1
    Right you are! There are three with one already hooked up. I found a wire loose in the housing and that was the problem with the fan. Got that running now. Now I'm off to follow your instructions on the lights.

    BRB.

    Eureka! Thank you so very much. It's working like a champ now. I'm ready to stuff all that stuff back into that little box and screw it back together.

    Thank you again!

    KC
  • Oct 26, 2006, 06:23 PM
    ceilingfanrepair
    Glad you got it working.

  • All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:01 PM.