Ceiling fan / light problem

[clcmbtn]

So I removed an old ceiling fan in our spare room and installed a Hunter. The old fan would stay on unless you pulled the chain to turn it off. The light was switched by the wall switch. Now the wall switch turns the light and fan off. How do I get the wall switch to just turn off the light and leave the fan running. I have to be honest I didn't pay attention when unwiring the old. All the other fans in tje house operate the same way as the one I just took down. What am I missing?

 

[Eddie_T]

Have you compared your connections in this box to one that is working properly?

 

[clcmbtn]

No I really didn't think of that. I can do that put the old fans you have to pull completely off. I'll give it a try. Thanks

 

[kok328]

you have to wire the fan to line side of the switch leg and the light to the load side of the switch leg to make it work the way you want. Then you can use the wall switch for the light and the pull chain for the fan. The fan will work with the light off.
Right now you have both the fan and light wired to the load side of the switch leg.

 

[clcmbtn]

That's where I am getting lost. I only have 2 wires coming from the ceiling box. With the wall switch off there's no power on either the black or white. With the switch on I have 110 on the black and 0 on white

 

[kok328]

That's where I am getting lost. I only have 2 wires coming from the ceiling box. With the wall switch off there's no power on either the black or white. With the switch on I have 110 on the black and 0 on white

Based on what your telling me, it could not have worked the way you describe
There HAS to be a constant hot in the box for it to work the way you describe.

 

[Eddie_T]

How many wires come into the ceiling (fan) box and how are they connected?

 

[afjes_2016]

To help us help you keep in mind for this conversation that wires are individual wires and cable/s contain individual wires.

How many cables are in the ceiling box?
How many wires came attached to the new fan?
How many wires/cables are there in the switch box?
Keep all ground wires out of the conversation to make things less confusing for us when counting wires.

How many wires go from the switch to the fan?

Also, pulling down another fan in the house won't necessarily tell you how this one is wired or should be wired. There are two ways that the fan can stay on with the switch off.

#1 - the power comes from the ceiling box. Switch loop to the switch for the light. Power to the fan is from the ceiling box and connects to the fan wire for the light without going down to the switch and back.
#2 - Power comes from the switch box. Power is connected to the switch for the light then up to the wire connecting to the light wires of the fan (normally fans have a wire for the light fan plus the neutral). The wire for the fan is not connected to the switch but the other wire going up to the fan and connects to the fan wire.

So pulling down another fan may help you depending on how that one is wired (power at the ceiling box or the switch box).

 

[Sparky617]

Here is a site with some good diagrams on the various ways this could be wired. If you only have a black/white/bare wire coming into the ceiling box a wireless remote controlled fan may be your best solution.

Wiring a Ceiling Fan and Light with Diagrams!

Wiring a ceiling fan and light can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. We give you a step-by-step guide...with diagrams!

www.protoolreviews.com

Wireless retro fit

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hunter-Universal-Fan-and-Light-Remote-Control-with-Receiver/5005476563

 

[bud16415]

Most fans with a light kit have two pull chains one for the fan one for the lights and the fan pull chain normally changes the speed. They also normally have a small switch on the side of the wire junction area that reverses the fan direction.



If the OP truly only has a BWG coming out of the ceiling and a wall switch controlling it as he stated he would have to have been leaving the fan shut off at the pull chain and leaving the light turned on at the pull chain and turning the light on and off with the switch. When he wanted fan he would use the chain and turn the fan on and off with the light on still. If say it was a bedroom at night he could turn on the light and then the fan and then shut off the light with the light pull chain and sleep with the fan running.

It would give him all the function he needs if he truly only has a BWG pair at the ceiling and as that’s what he has told us we have nothing to go on except that.

 

[afjes_2016]

only have 2 wires coming from the ceiling box. With the wall switch off there's no power on either the black or white.

As kok328 stated this can not be the case unless what you state as two wires coming out of the ceiling box you mean two wires that are free to be connected but there are more wires in the ceiling box.

clcmbtn until you come back and answer some of our questions we won't be able to guide you the proper way because as stated it depends on how everything is wired in both the ceiling and switch box.

Again the big determining factor is where is the power coming from and how many wires come from the switch to the ceiling box?

Until we hear back from clcmbtn we are just guessing. Our guessing methods are correct but won't necessarily match what the OP has (OP = Original Poster - in this case clcmbtn).

clcmbtn - there is no need to pull other fans down to figure out how to wire this fan. Please answer the questions we have asked and we can save you that trouble. The one you happen to pull down may not be wired the same way so don't waste your time pulling another fan down. Just answer our questions first.

Sparky617 - while the remote option is a consideration for convenience maybe a remote is not needed in this case as of yet for $80. If the original fan unit allowed the OP to operate the fan independantly of the light with one switch the wiring is there now. We just have to know exactly what wires are where in order to give the OP the proper guidance.

 

[Sparky617]

Sparky617 - while the remote option is a consideration for convenience maybe a remote is not needed in this case as of yet for $80. If the original fan unit allowed the OP to operate the fan independantly of the light with one switch the wiring is there now. We just have to know exactly what wires are where in order to give the OP the proper guidance.

That's why I provided the link with the pictures of the various ways the ceiling fan could be wired. Pictures can tell the story much easier than the written word. IF the OP has 14/3 running from the wall switch box to the ceiling box he can install a duplex switch to allow both to be controlled at the wall. If he only has 14/2 going to the fan he needs to use the pull chains. Not the handiest way to control the fan and light especially if the light is turned off at the pull chain and you're entering the room in the dark and need to find the pull chain. In that case, a remote is a nice, and relatively inexpensive way to independently control the fan and the light provided you don't misplace the remote. I'd mount the remote at the switch.

 

[bud16415]

That's why I provided the link with the pictures of the various ways the ceiling fan could be wired. Pictures can tell the story much easier than the written word. IF the OP has 14/3 running from the wall switch box to the ceiling box he can install a duplex switch to allow both to be controlled at the wall. If he only has 14/2 going to the fan he needs to use the pull chains. Not the handiest way to control the fan and light especially if the light is turned off at the pull chain and you're entering the room in the dark and need to find the pull chain. In that case, a remote is a nice, and relatively inexpensive way to independently control the fan and the light provided you don't misplace the remote. I'd mount the remote at the switch.

When I remodeled our house the living room had a old fan only I took down. The fan I bought came with an up light and a down light and a full remote control system that did everything. I wired it up and turned on the old switch and it has been turned on for 8 years. We watch our 3 and 5 year old nephews and one night I went to turn on the fan and the remote didn’t work. I thought holy cow that battery lasted a really long time. changed batteries and nothing I thought great the stupid fan quite working. Few days passed and the boys came over and I watched the 5 year old flip the switch and the light came on in my head. He said Uncle Bud the fan don’t work.

If you get one you got to be smarter than a 5 year old. I know but wait till you get old.

 

[afjes_2016]

As far as a remote goes that is a good option however I was just trying to stay in line with the OP's original problem and trying to solve it without adding costs. If the OP wants to go further and install a remote then that is fine but the OP will still have to come back here and explain the wiring that is present in both the ceiling box and switch box in order for anything to work properly.

Until the OP comes back and answers some of our questions we are just guessing because aS we know there are many different ways this can be wired but without knowing the present facts we won't get anywhere.

 

[kok328]

No need for remotes and taking down other fans.
I don't doubt how the OP says it worked before.
Therefore, this can be fixed by just moving a wire or two and be done.
We just have to find that constant hot the fan was tied into.

 

[Sparky617]

When I remodeled our house the living room had a old fan only I took down. The fan I bought came with an up light and a down light and a full remote control system that did everything. I wired it up and turned on the old switch and it has been turned on for 8 years. We watch our 3 and 5 year old nephews and one night I went to turn on the fan and the remote didn’t work. I thought holy cow that battery lasted a really long time. changed batteries and nothing I thought great the stupid fan quite working. Few days passed and the boys came over and I watched the 5 year old flip the switch and the light came on in my head. He said Uncle Bud the fan don’t work.

If you get one you got to be smarter than a 5 year old. I know but wait till you get old.

My brother's house was wired with two switches for the fan/light. But the builder's dad bought the ceiling fans and got remote controlled ones making the switches useless. My last trip up I couldn't get the light to work because the pull chain had multiple positions of off/2 lights on/4 lights on and it was in the off position. The maid could never figure out how to turn the lights on and off. We bypassed the remote for the light so no it is controlled by the wall switch. The fan is still controlled by the remote. I never liked the light control because it would dim the light instead of turning it off. That's part of the reason I recommended if you go for the remote to bypass the switch.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Based on what your telling me, it could not have worked the way you describe
There HAS to be a constant hot in the box for it to work the way you describe.

This is correct, with two wires, one hot and one neutral, you get all or nothing from the wall switch.