We took down a fan and paid little attention to the wiring and now we are confused. There are to switches, one for fan one for light. There are two other wire sheaths in the junction box in the ceiling. All 4 Wire sheaths have a white, black and a copper ground. Also in the junction there are two red wires (not bundled to anything.) The Fan has a black, white and blue wire.I am suggesting we wire all the whites together,and all the blacks with the one blue... but where do the reds go (do I wire the ground (green) to them?

OK,
You have 4 cables, each with a black, white and bare wire in the ceiling box.
You said,

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Also in the junction there are two red wires (not bundled to anything.)

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Does that mean you have two short wires that are connected to something or does it mean that you have two red wires that leave the box but are not in a cable with other wires.

Open switch box and tell us what wires you have there.

Nothing but bare or green wires ever get connected to bare or green wires.

We took down a fan and paid little attention to the wiring and now we are confused. There are to switches, one for fan one for light. There are two other wire sheaths in the junction box in the ceiling. All 4 Wire sheaths have a white, black and a copper ground. Also in the junction there are two red wires (not bundled to anything.) The Fan has a black, white and blue wire.I am suggesting we wire all the whites together,and all the blacks with the one blue... but where do the reds go (do I wire the ground (green) to them? I am unable to see your response would you mind emailing to [email protected]?

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Let’s start with what connections are needed by the fan.

Fan Power – Black, Light Power – Blue, Neutral – White, Bare – Ground.

Now for the ceiling connections. One of the cables (Black/White – Bare ground) will be the supply from the service panel. You need to identify that cable. Easiest way would be to purchase a multi-meter at any Lowe's or Home Depot. They are not all that expensive. In your case the simplest the better.

There are two switches, correct? I need to know what is behind the switch faceplates. Can you take some pictures of the switches and the ceiling wires for me, please.

Here’s the problem, We have now accounted for the use of three of the four cables in the fan outlet. The forth cable may be a cable providing power downstream of the fan outlet.

The red wires are unaccounted for. I need to know if they are used on the switches or somewhere else.

Sent via e-mail:

Sharon,

Who did the original wiring for you? Run out and shoot them (metaphorically speaking). Picture number 2 (Switch with red and white to the same screw) is a flat out double code violation!

Are these switches adjacent to each other? By the way, switch 1 is not the correct type switch for a fan. It is simply an on and off switch. You still have to control the fan with a pull string or chain. They make a switch that allows to control the fan's speed. It has a Hi – Med –Low settings . Under no circumstances are you to use a light dimmer switch. Get a fan control switch.

To begin with make certain that the breaker that supplies this circuit is off!

Because it looks almost as if the red wire on switch one is the feed for switch two. Which is fine, it just has to be corrected. You would do this by way of a “pig-tail”. Get another short piece (6 “ or so) of the white wire. Remove both the white and red conductors from under the switch screw. Now strip back the new wire and connect it (use a wire nut) to the red and white wires. Strip back the other end of the conductor and connect it to the switch.

Place a band of black electrical tape or use a black sharpie pen to mark the white conductor. This is called re-identifying. You need to do this to both ends of the of the white conductor. This tells the next person to look at these wires that this white wire is an ungrounded (hot) and not a Neutral (grounded) conductor. Next we need to look at the ceiling outlet. Can you see the wire going to the switches.

The next violation is a little more difficult to correct.

In the ceiling outlet, I see a three wire cable (Black – Red – White –bare ground) cable. Please isolate these wires from the rest of the bundle (by cable) also isolate the wires to the fan. Now, re-identify the white conductor going to the switch. Once that is done, and we have all of the wires isolated by cable and fixture we (I hope you like the use of the “We” in this exercise) can start reconnecting.

Start with the Green and bare conductors. Connect all of these together and replace them in the ceiling outlet box. Now connect the all of the white conductors together <Not the re-identified white>, including the white for the fan. Put them in the ceiling box. Now connect all of the remaining cable blacks <not the black from the switch and not the fan black>and the re-identified white conductor together. Put them in the ceiling box. Next the Black from the switch to the black from the fan. Finally, connect the blue from the fan to the red from the switch.

Now, at the second switch, the one with both red wires. The way they are connected is called “backstabbed”. This type of connection is notoriously famous for failing. The springs inside the switch weaken over time and the connection loosens. Either replace the switch or remove the wires from the back of the switch and place them on the screws.

Turn the breaker on and if it shuts right off again, there is a short. Leave the breaker off and get back to me.

If the breaker stays ON, then go back to the room and first test that the light works. If it does, turn on the fan and see how that works. Next, test all of the receptacles to make sure they are functioning.

If everything is working, then turn the breaker off, and finish the fan installation, turn the breaker back on.

Success! Thank you for all the detail, information and easy to follow steps; it would not have been possible without your help. I now have a new appreciation of the value of a good electrician. It was a steep learning curve for me, but I enjoyed the challenge.