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kirakid · Dec 11, 2009, 04:46 PM

I got ground, white, black and red wires from ceiling. I got ground, black, white and black with white line wires on fan/light. Then I got 2 black and 1 red at the switch.
I'm trying to wire the fan and light to a single on/off switch.
Please help me out, I don't know what wire to connect to what. This is a new townhouse, it used to have a remote fan/light.
Please, any help will be appreciated I've been with out like for 2 days now.

kirakid · Dec 11, 2009, 05:13 PM

Here an image, hope this helps.

hkstroud · Dec 11, 2009, 07:55 PM

Sorry but you wiring description does not compute.

There must be either

1. More wires in the ceiling box or;
2. more wires in the switch box, or;
3. the switch is one of a set of 3-way switches.

Most probably you have a set of 3-way switches.

The correct wiring at the ceiling box will be white to white and black to black and black with white strip to red. The switch should then control the light. It may control the fan instead. If so reverse the black and black with white strip connections.

kirakid · Dec 11, 2009, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by hkstroud

Sorry but you wiring description does not compute.

There must be either

1. More wires in the ceiling box or;
2. more wires in the switch box, or;
3. the switch is one of a set of 3-way switches.

Most probably you have a set of 3-way switches.

The correct wiring at the ceiling box will be white to white and black to black and black with white strip to red. The switch should then control the light. It may control the fan instead. If so reverse the black and black with white strip connections.

Will it short out if I connect them wrong. And is white always the neutral and black the power. and where the switch is, should there be a white one? because the other 3 switched next to it are: (in order from top to bottom.) black,red. Then red and 2black, then black and black.
So I'm very confused. Nothing I ever encountered.
And I looked, there is no other extra wires there.
You know of any way I can test to see which are neutral and witch are power.

hkstroud · Dec 11, 2009, 08:29 PM

White is always neutral with a couple of exceptions. If white is being used as a hot it should be marked with black tape or paint. You can test for voltage on white with a voltage tester by placing probes on white and ground. Like wise you can test for voltage on the black and red to determine which is always hot and which is hot only when the switch is on.

I think you can safely assume that the white is neutral. You must have a neutral at the ceiling box and the neutral must be white. The red and black will be hot but I don't know which is switched. They may both be switched so that yo can control both the fan and the light from the wall switches. You won't see a white at the switch box if the switch is a 3-way and power is being fed to the other 3-way switch. Three conductor are required between 3-way switches. Usually this is 3-wire Romex with black, red and white wires. Your wiring must be in conduit since you apparently have two blacks and a red at the switch.

Originally Posted by kirakid

because the other 3 switched next to it are: (in order from top to bottom.) black,red. then red and 2black, then black and black.

I don't understand what you are saying. Are you saying there are additional switches in the switch box. If so what do they control. How many terminals does the switch you want to use have? What wires are connected.

kirakid · Dec 12, 2009, 02:18 AM

Originally Posted by hkstroud

I don't understand what you are saying. Are you saying there are additional switches in the switch box. If so what do they control. How many terminals does the switch you want to use have? What wires are connected.

There is 4 switches. From left the empty one for a fan.(2 black, 1 red)
Second is for an outlet which has a light plugged in to it. (top black, bottom red)
Third is light by door (red on top, 2 black on bottom.)
Fourth is outside light (black on top, black on bottom.)
All have grounds as well.

PS: I don't believe the fan can be turned on anywhere else. So I don't think it's a three-way.

Should I take a few pictures of all of the wires and switches?

hkstroud · Dec 12, 2009, 05:44 AM

If by two black and one red you mean that there are three screws with three wires ( two black and one red wire) attached, that is a 3-way switch. That means that there is another switch some where.

The second and fourth switches are single pole switches (simple on and off switches). The wiring to these are just switch legs. One wire brings power from the outlet or light and the other wire takes it back. The neutral for these is at the light or outlet.

The third switch is also a 3-way switch with another switch somewhere for the front door light.

All this still sounds like at the ceiling fan box, the white is neutral, one of the other wires is hot all the time and the third is hot only when the switch is on. Can't tell which at this time.

Install fan/light. If switch controls the fan and not the light, reverse the wiring of black and red. Either that or get a test meter and check for switched hot.

ceilingfanrepair · Dec 15, 2009, 03:59 PM

How was the old fan connected? How about the old wall switch?

Your diagram COULD be correct the way I read, if it was two switch legs for the fan, and you're not noticing a neutral wire passing through the switch box.

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