Hello,

I removed a ceiling fan and plan to replace it with an ordinary fixture. I have a black, white and red wire in the junction box. When I use a voltmeter attatched to the black and white, I get voltage. The switch does not control this. When I attach a pigtail to this, it stays lit and is not controlled by the switch. Likewise, when I test the red and white with a voltmeter, I have voltage and this is controlled by the switch. However, when I hook the pigtail to the red and white wires, it does not light. I am very confused. What should I do?

Check the switch. It appears that you are making contact on the red through the switch because you have voltage. From the volt meter you know you have voltage but you don't know how much amperage you have. Apparently it is very poor contact and restricting the amperage.

Probably best to just replace the switch.

So you have two switches, a 3 way?