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    mchollar's Avatar
    mchollar Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Sep 11, 2009, 09:17 PM
    Flipping either light or fan switch turns on both light and fan
    I have a Hunter ceiling fan/light in my MBR (I'm renting the house) and it has two switches on the wall. One should control the light, the other the fan. Unfortunately, turning on either switch will activate both the light and the fan.
    I took apart the fan and everything seems to be wired in accordance with the instructions.

    CEILING-----FAN
    Black--------black
    Red----------black/white
    White--------white
    Green--------green

    The wiring in the wall looks like the diagram I've attached.

    Any ideas?

    Micah
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    hkstroud's Avatar
    hkstroud Posts: 11,929, Reputation: 899
    Home Improvement & Construction Expert
    		  
    #2

    Sep 11, 2009, 10:41 PM

    Wiring shown in switch diagram is correct. Is the switches being used two separate devices or two switches on one yoke?
    ceilingfanrepair's Avatar
    ceilingfanrepair Posts: 5,733, Reputation: 109
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    #3

    Sep 11, 2009, 10:56 PM

    How did you wire the light kit?

    http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/c...fan-wiring.php
    mchollar's Avatar
    mchollar Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Sep 12, 2009, 07:37 AM

    hkstroud,
    The two switches are separate devices.

    ceilingfanrepair,
    I'll have to open it back up and make a diagram of that. It's a little bit complicated. The black/white and black inside the fan/light are not wired together anywhere. Could a bad wiring inside there be causing this?
    stanfortyman's Avatar
    stanfortyman Posts: 5,598, Reputation: 279
    Electrical & Lighting Expert
    		  
    #5

    Sep 12, 2009, 07:47 AM
    You are renting this place. You should call the landlord about this.
    You are opening yourself up to some serious liability.
    hkstroud's Avatar
    hkstroud Posts: 11,929, Reputation: 899
    Home Improvement & Construction Expert
    		  
    #6

    Sep 12, 2009, 07:55 AM

    The switches are single pole switches (two screw terminals)are they not? Anything is possible, short between the black and red hot conductors to light, short in the fan/light fixture, short between cables in ceiling box or switch box. These are possible but unlikely.

    Are there any other wires other than the 3-wire cable in the ceiling box.
    mchollar's Avatar
    mchollar Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #7

    Sep 12, 2009, 12:27 PM

    Stan,

    I do agree that the landlord should fix this. He told me before I moved in that he was working on a 'bug' with the ceiling fan. He's turning out to be the kind of landlord that makes all kinds of promises and doesn't deliver on any of them. I was hoping this might be something simple that I could fix, but it's turning out to be a bit of a time-drain and hopefully not a safety hazard. Should I demand that he send an electrician out here to fix what he himself could not? It's a minor nuisance (I have to use the pull-string to turn the light on and off), but I hope it's not a safety hazard as well.

    Harold,
    The switches are indeed single pole. I guess we are dealing with a short somewhere. How can I figure out where it is without 'opening myself up to some serious liability,' as Stan said.
    hkstroud's Avatar
    hkstroud Posts: 11,929, Reputation: 899
    Home Improvement & Construction Expert
    		  
    #8

    Sep 12, 2009, 12:33 PM

    Just tell us what wires are in the ceiling box.
    ceilingfanrepair's Avatar
    ceilingfanrepair Posts: 5,733, Reputation: 109
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    #9

    Sep 12, 2009, 10:51 PM

    I think there's a possibility the light kit is connected incorrectly in the switch housing.
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