Outlet/Ceiling fan problem

[shan2themax]

So, in a previous post, I discussed the fact that my ceiling fan and 1 or 2 outlets in room room stopped working. I rearranged my room today and plugged a lamp into an outlet that I couldnt access previously (and it's original to the house 1979), and when I plugged it into the top, it woukdnt stay in, so I plugged it into the bottom to see if it was loose there also. The light came on and then I heard a whirring sound and my ceiling fan was spinning. Unplugged lamp, fan went off, plugged back in. Fan turned off.
Needless to say, there is nothing plugged into that outlet currently. Obviously the outlet needs replaced. What am I missing if anything, in regards to the fan? Is it just a loose wire/bad plug causing an issue in the line?

 

[Snoonyb]

Something has changed within that outlet box. So, plug the lamp back in, operate the, if there are any, wall switches that previously controlled the appliance and record any changes in the appliances operation. Identify and secure the breaker that controls the recep. the lamp is plugged into. Open the recep. box, pull the recep. loose enough to expose the conductors and post a photo.

 

[nealtw]

Sounds like a split outlet that some one wired in series instead of parallel

 

[pjones]

Did all of these stop working when you happened to unplug something else in the house? Sounds like something is not wired correctly or a wire got damaged somewhere causing the fan to back feed through the lights circuit (anything is possible on an old house, I’ve seen some pretty creative homeowners with good intentions in my days)

 

[Jeff Handy]

Could be a loose neutral wire bundle, in any of the junction boxes serving the affected lights, sockets, or ceiling fan.

Check and redo all the wire nuts in every box.

Turn off main power first, no need to get shocked, a little bit of wire is often exposed before the wire nut.

 

[shan2themax]

Sorry it took so long for me to reply, I couldnt remember my password... anyways, I am going to change the outlet out and see what that does. I will try the switch for the ceiling fan before, to see if it does work. I'll update when I get around to it.
Thank you guys!

 

[oldognewtrick]

Sorry it took so long for me to reply, I couldnt remember my password... anyways, I am going to change the outlet out and see what that does. I will try the switch for the ceiling fan before, to see if it does work. I'll update when I get around to it.
Thank you guys!

Don't forget to turn off the breaker...

 

[shan2themax]

Most definitely!

Don't forget to turn off the breaker...

 

[oldognewtrick]

Most definitely!

We try to eliminate all the shocking possibilities.

 

[bondo]

If you live in a coastal region with a lot of humidity and salt in the air there could be a problem with corrosion in the mechanical (Not Soldered) electrical connections. I recently found this in a relativity new ceiling fan after it started having problems running fast and the lights dimming over time on it's own. The contacts were getting hot from the poor contact.

20191105_090506

• bondo
• Dec 23, 2019

corroded electrical connections

 

[Jeff Handy]

And bad contacts like that can cause arcing.
Which can cause a fire.
I have found loose connections like that several times.
Sometimes it’s just a screw terminal not tightened enough, or a wire nut that did not grab one of the wires that were twisted together.
But most often it is when a receptacle is back-wired through the push-in terminals, which over time can get extremely loose.