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Venus01 · Apr 15, 2006, 08:05 AM

I've installed 4 Hampton Bay fans with attached lighting fixutres and they all work fine except for the last one I installed. The lighting fixture gets really really hot after just a few minutes of operation and I can't figure why.

This fan like the others is being installed in place of an existing light fixture with a single switch. I took the light fixture out disconnect the Black, white and grounding wires from the existing fixture. Attached the fan/light Black/blue to Black, white to white, and green to ground. The fan works, the lights come on and 10-15 mintues later the lighting fixture gets very hot and you can smell it overheating. The light fixture I took out had 3 60 watt lights as does the fan/light kit I installed.

I thought it might be a defect in the unit I had purchased so I returned it and the replacment unit is doing the same thing. Any suggestions?

tkrussell · Apr 15, 2006, 08:21 AM

I suggest that the voltage be tested and measured with a meter that gives the exact volts at this fan first. The volts should be 120 volts, plus/minus 5%, or 114 V to 126 V.

Since this is the second fan, then the fan should not be the problem.

What size wattage lamps are installed , and what is the light kit rated for?

Is there a dimmer?

Venus01 · Apr 15, 2006, 08:24 AM

I don't have a volt meter. The light fixture I took out had 3 60 Watt light fixtures the lighting kit has 3 60 watt light fixtures as well. There is no dimmer or remote associated with this fan,

Originally Posted by tkrussell

I suggest that the voltage be tested and measured with a meter that gives the exact volts at this fan first. The volts should be 120 volts, plus/minus 5%, or 114 V to 126 V.

Since this is the second fan, then the fan should not be the problem.

What size wattage lamps are installed , and what is the light kit rated for?

Is there a dimmer?

tkrussell · Apr 15, 2006, 08:33 AM

Then the best I can suggest is to call an electrician in, since even if you did go out and purchase a volt meter, and the volts are the issue, there is probably a more serious reason that you can correct.

There can be higher volts , and this would cause the lamps to be hotter than normal.

Are all the light kits the same? Is this one different that the lamps are enclosed somehow, and entrapping the heat?

Again, what is the light kit rated for lamp wattage? Every light fixture has a lable or stamp someplace to tell you the maximum wattage lamps that are allowed in that fixture.

ceilingfanrepair · Apr 15, 2006, 09:20 AM

I've heard many many examples of this question: "I just put in a Hampton Bay fan and the light smells like it is burning, and gets really hot, what do I do?" Frankly I've been clueless on this one but I've always said "Try running the light for a good few hours to see if it needs to 'burn in'. Keep a close eye on it in case something's wrong, but see if the smell goes away." I've never heard back from anyone after that, so I suppose that's been a satisfactory answer.

If anyone has a better answer than that I'd love to know.. . But it seems to be an inherent problem with Hampton Bay fanlights.

TKRussel, I am wondering, how could the voltage be high for one fan, but not for those in the rest of his house including the other fans he's installed?

Venus01 · Apr 15, 2006, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by ceilingfanrepair

I've heard many many examples of this question: "I just put in a Hampton Bay fan and the light smells like it is burning, and gets really hot, what do I do?" Frankly I've been clueless on this one but I've always said "Try running the light for a good few hours to see if it needs to 'burn in'. Keep a close eye on it in case something's wrong, but see if the smell goes away." I've never heard back from anyone after that, so I suppose that's been a satisfactory answer.

If anyone has a better answer than that I'd love to know . . . but it seems to be an inherent problem with Hampton Bay fanlights.

TKRussel, I am wondering, how could the voltage be high for one fan, but not for those in the rest of his house including the other fans he's installed?

Sounds kind of scarey but it is what I had decided to do. Watching the light very closely and making sure it's turned off when no one is in the room. This one does not have that overpowering "Burn In" smell like the first one did. Thanks for your response.

tkrussell · Apr 15, 2006, 11:34 AM

CFR guy, a loose or open neutral of a three wire branch circuit can increase the volts to that one fan.

And the poster still has not reported the max wattage rating of the light fixture. If the rating is exceeded, then this can be the issue.

Nor has responded if the lamps are enclosed in this fixture and if the other light kits are opened. If these lamps are in an enclosed globe, the globes will entrap heat, more than another globe that is opened to allow heat to escape.

ceilingfanrepair · Apr 15, 2006, 01:13 PM

The vast majority of fan lights use 60 watt standard base bulbs.

In the case of an open neutral, you're speaking of when the fan would become wired in series with some other light or appliance? Or is there another scenario I'm not envisioning?

tkrussell · Apr 15, 2006, 01:57 PM

Yes exactly, even thou it is unlikely, it is possible.