Our Emerson ceiling fan was on low, and somebody had the bright idea of pulling the chain to turn it up to medium. Instead of getting a chair or a ladder, the bright spark jumped up, grabbed the chain and pulled then let go. The chain, and the wooden pull at the end flew back up, wrapped around one of the fan blades, and the wooden pull was briefly stuck between the base and the blade. The fan stopped, and now won't re-start. The circuit breaker did not trip. Any ideas for how to proceed?

Is the pull wedged between the blade and the base?

Make sure fan spins freely by hand.

Make sure the reversing switch didn't get knocked to an in-between position.

Make sure the switch has distinct clicks.

hkstroud: the pull caught very briefly between the base and the fan blade, but didn't stay stuck.

KISS: the fan spins freely by hand, and the light still works. We were excited about the reversing switch idea, but sadly that didn't work out.

The whole thing lasted only a second or two- with no smell of burning, or alarming noises. Could there be some sort of shut-off valve in the motor that can be re-set? If it needs a repair person (motor burnt-out?) who do I look for?

Best guess at this point is the switch broke and you probably have no way of testing it such as a meter or lamp tester.

The motors are hearty, although it could have failed.

Switches are available here: CeilingFanParts.com Home

There are a number of designs too as evidenced by this website: Ceiling Fand wiring Diagrams

That makes sense: the weight on the pull chain was enough to snap the chain, so it could have broken the switch on the inside. In the morning I'll go open the case & find the switch...

If you find one of the terminals labeled L and the two other wires going to a dual capacitor and not the common terminal of the cap, it's safe to connect them all together and the fan will run at high speed.

If the blades still turn freely by hand, it is probably the pullchain switch that got damaged.

If you pull the chain slowly with the power on, does it start to spin at all?

Check also the reverse switch, make sure it is firmly seated.

If you do need to replace the pullchain, be sure to get the correct replacement from Emerson Fans Home and FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS HERE:

Ceiling fan pullchain replacement and repair - Ceiling Fans N More

Emerson is a good fan that is worth fixing.

Post pictures of the fan and I can give further advice.