I have two light switches in my kitchen on separate walls. They control my ceiling fan/light. The fan/light can be turned on and off from either switch. Is there a way that I can change it so that one switch controls the light and the other controls the fan

Impossible without re-wiring the whole thing. And by this I mean adding wires, not just changing splices.

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Originally Posted by stanfortyman

Impossible without re-wiring the whole thing. And by this I mean adding wires, not just changing splices.

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Thanks.

Impossible..?

Quiet,

Regarding your post... I have 3) questions:

1) What sort of fan / light operation would you like?

2) Have you considered installing a combo ceiling fan/light remote?

3) Is power (HOT) black wire being fed from one of the 3way switch gang boxes or is it from the ceiling box?

When you examine any of the boxes involved... if you see a bundle of black (HOT) wires... capped with a wire nut and one pigtail from that group feeding one of the 3ways... that's your HOT source.

In the case of the ceiling box if you see... multi cables entering the box with a group of black wires capped with a wire nut and not going to the fan... then one of those black wires is going to be your HOT source and the other is going to one of the 3ways. Another possibility is that the ceiling box to switch bank was wired with 14/3 similar to the wire used between the 2-3ways, 14/3 wire will have 4 conductors - Black-Red-White-Bare Copper Ground.

You'll need access to the fan/light wiring covered by the fan canopy because that's where you will install the wireless receiver. Receives have a Black & White wire set for HOT and NEUTRAL and another wire set Red(Fan Motor), Blue(Light Fixture), and White(Neutral for motor and light).

Does your fan have a downrod (alows the fan to hang down slightly from the ceiling)? If so the install/wiring is very easy. If the fan is flush with the ceiling it's slightly harder because the space restriction - might have to drop the fan slightly... but still can be done... just will take a little longer.

Two years ago I did a job at a large senior citzen retirement center(CCRC) that involved installing 252 combo ceiling fans/lights and retro fitted remotes. The job went smooth and they haven't had any problems.

If you have a digital camera take a couple of closeups and post them here.

Once we know what's in place it will be easier to advise you as to how to proceed with the install/wiring of the remote so as to achieve the operation you want.

Remotes can range in price from $39 -$139, Stay away from the low end units as the are prone to problems. Also, what brand/model fan/light do you have?

In general, a good hi end remote will last years. Like any remote, the hand held controller has a battery that at some point you'll have to replace.

Get back to me any let me know what you've found and which mode Fan or Light is used most often. Keep in mind once a 3way switch is active... you can use the remote to control both Fan & Light.

Joe

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Impossible..?

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Yes, under all but one extremely unlikely situation. This would be where the power comes into the ceiling box and both 3-ways drop down as switch loops. When was the last time you saw one wired this way? And a DIY rewiring would be a challenging task.

And yes, a remote would work. I hadn't considered that since the OP specifically asked about re-wiring the switches.