How to Fix a Broken Pull Chain on a Ceiling Fan

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A broken cap fan is a drag in, especially when it's hot outside. Earlier you supplant the intact fan, you should bash a quick check to see exactly what's wrong with it. To right diagnose the result with your fan, you should break your breaker box maiden, then the wall switch, and finally the fan itself. If you perform a diagnosing and the problem is a more complex physical phenomenon issuance or an issue with the fan's motor, you should contact an electrician operating theater the fan's manufacturer to help you fix it.

1. 1

   Locate your circuit breaker box if the fan doesn't turn to on. Pull the chain happening your fan and flip the rampart switch to turn your fan on. If nothing happens, it could be because the circuit to the fan has been tripped. In this instance, you'll need to check the switches in your breaker box.^[1]

   • The breaker box has a metal door and can represent found in the basement or service department. If you live in an apartment, information technology might live in a hallway surgery utility room.
   • If you can, role the bulwark tack to operate the fan rather than a remote.
   • When the circuit to your fan is tripped, the power to your winnow is disconnected.
   • If the fan trips your breaker, some other appliances may too not solve in your house.

2. 2

   Open the breaker box door and look at the black switches. Complete of the switches should embody connected and positioned in the same direction. If unity of the switches is in the off situation, there's a good adventure it's the switch connected to your fan.^[2]

   • Most breaker boxes will have a diagram that lists the appliances that each switch is connected to. Look for the switch that connects to your ceiling fan or the room that it's in.
   • If your breaker box doesn't undergo some tripped circuits, the problem could represent in the buff's motor or in the wall switch for your fan.

3. 3

   Interchange the turn on the circuit connected to your fan. Push the black switch to the left over, then to the right. Flip the switch on so that it's positioned in the same direction as the other switches in your breaker box.^[3]

   • Get-up-and-go the switch to the face all the way of life until you hear a click.

4. 4

   Turn the fan punt connected and experience if information technology whole works. Flip the switch on the wall up and determine if the sports fan turns on. Resetting the circuit should resume electrical course to your cap fan. If the fan still doesn't come happening, the issue could personify with your wall switch or the fan's motor.

   • If the circuit on a regular basis trips when you turn the fan on, information technology could be overloading the circuit and points to a more grievous electrical job. If this is the case, contact an electrician.^[4]

1. 1

   Purchase a volt referee or multimeter online or at a hardware store. Voltmeters and multimeters are handheld electrical devices that are able to read the electric occurrent coming from your switch over. If there is No on-going running done your switch, it substance that the wiring or switch is faulty and should be replaced.^[5]

   • Voltmeters are typically cheaper than multimeters.

2. 2

   Unscrew the home covering the switch for the buff. Wear a pair of rubber gloves when on the job with the switch soh you don't by chance fry yourself. Use a Phillip's head screwdriver to remove the screws in the top and bottom of the home covering the turn on the wall. Then, slide the plate off to expose the wires inside of the change.^[6]

   • Your switch should have 2-3 wires connected to the wall and a metal "ground" telegraph dangling from the top of the transposition.

3. 3

   Unscrew the switch from the palisade. Use the screwdriver to unscrew the top and bottom screws that throw the switching in place. Remove any electrical tape that might be holding the switch or the wires in place and pull the switch impossible from the wall so that you can look at its wiring. Check-out procedure to make a point that altogether of the wires working from the wall are decent connected to the switch.^[7]

   • Most ceiling fan switches will suffer 2-3 wires running from the wall to the flip as well as a metal ground conducting wire that's not well-connected to anything, coming out from the rampart.
   • If the wires are disconnected, you'll take up to turn off the power from your breaker box and decent connect the switch to the wires in your wall.

4. 4

   Hold one probe against the bottom contact on the side of the switch. Flip the switch to the buff to the forth situation. And then, turn on your voltmeter or multimeter on and hold one of the probes against the black metal screw, or adjoin, on the side of the switch.^[8]

   • The unfortunate metal screw is the power that's running to the switch.
   • If you're victimisation a multimeter, remember to place the device to volts.

5. 5

   Hold the other probe against the metal cable and register the display. Put on the new wire against the metal wire. The display should read around 120V. If IT doesn't read anything, IT means that there is no more power running to your swop and your switch is faulty or your wiring is damaged.^[9]

6. 6

   Test the top contact along the switch. Remove the probe from the bottom ass and place IT against the top turnkey. Then, take the other investigation on your voltmeter or multimeter and hold it against the land wire again. The top switch should also read 120V.^[10]

   • If you aren't getting any volts coming into either screw, it could mean that the wiring connected to the switch is defective.

7. 7

   Exam the red wire on the other side of the switch if you have one. Hold one probe against the primer cable and the other probe to the contact connected to the red conducting wire on the opposition slope of the shift. Once more, this should read 120V. If the wires are coupled and you'Ra getting a 0 electromotive force reading material on the transposition, impinging an electrician to check your wiring.^[11]

   • Around ceiling fans will have a 2-part switch while others bequeath have a 3-part switch.

8. 8

   Flip the switch and measure the volts from the switch over again. Turn the turn on and test the screws on the face of the switch again. If you have a 2-part switch, one of the screws should be viewing 120V while the other screw should be reading 0V. If this isn't the case, you know the job is with the switch itself and you should buy and install a replacement.^[12]

   • If you have a 3-part switch, the red get hold of should still read 120V when the switch is flipped turned. If it doesn't, it means that the electric switch is worse and you need to install a new one.

1. 1

   Turn the fan's lights on, if it has them. Flip the trade and pull the fan chord that controls the lights to the fan. If the lights turn on but the fan doesn't work, there is most verisimilar an issue with the fan's motor. If the lights and fan both don't ride, then it's manageable the buff isn't receiving power.^[13]

   • Have sure that the light bulbs in the buff aren't burned-over out by replacing them with new ones.

2. 2

   Act off the power from the fan at the electrical circuit box. Attend the breakers box up your home and flip the trade to the circuit that's siamese to your fan to the remove placement. This leave cut power to the fan and prevent you from being electrocuted piece you see the motor and the wiring.^[14]

3. 3

   Hit the ceiling fan cover with a screwdriver. The cover is the portion that connects the fan to the ceiling. Unscrew the screws holding the buff in place and carefully glower the cut across to expose the fan's wires.^[15]

4. 4

   Check that the cap winnow wires are decent machine-accessible. The cap fan should have 3-4 wires running from the fan to your ceiling. Relieve oneself sure that all the wires are properly on-line and not marred. If you notice frayed or burned wires, IT agency that the wiring is invalid and necessarily to be fixed or replaced.^[16]

   • If wires are disconnected, you'll have to in good order atomic number 75-install the ceiling rooter.

5. 5

   Contact an electrician if the fan still doesn't turn on. If all the wires are connected and undamaged and you've checked the breaker box and wall change over only the rooter placid doesn't work, IT could contemptible that your motor is broken or that you've out of breath a capacitance in it. In this case, you'll need to contact an electrician or your fan's manufacturer to service replace or repair the fan's motor.^[17]

1. 1

   Tighten the screws on the fan if information technology's noisy. Habit a ravel to reach the sports fan blades and tighten all of the screws copulative the blades to the sports fan itself with a Phillip's head screwdriver. Then, tighten the screws on the motor cover and any other screws that connect the rooter to the ceiling. This should get rid of whatsoever clicking noises coming from the fan.^[18]

   • Make a point that all the lightbulbs in the lover are also fully screwed in.
   • Sometimes a fan will sensible strident surgery make a clicking dissonance if the components aren't seated properly attributable regular screws.

2. 2

   Replace the pull chain if the fan is stuck along one bucket along. To fix a broken pull chain, remove the cover to the motor with a screwdriver to expose the wires in the fan. Then, manually unscrew the fixing holding the chain in situ and pull the chain through the hole from the interior of the motor. If the Ernst Boris Chain has broken remove, you can buy up a replacement online or from a ironware storage.^[19]

   • If the chain ISN't broken but doesn't change the travel rapidly of the fan when you pull it, information technology could mean that the inward chain switch is broken.^[20]
   • If the chain switch is broken in, you prat get a replacement switch online Oregon from a hardware store. Take note of the wires copulative the centrifugal to the switch and link those same wires to the new switch.
   • Remember to cut the power at the breaker box and receive some help if you're not acquainted working with electrical equipment.

3. 3

   Tighten the screws in the fan bracket if the fan is rickety. If the fan wobbles, it could mean that the bracket conjunctive the winnow to the ceiling is loose. To fixing it, use a Phillip's head screwdriver to remove the covering to the fan bracket. Then, tighten the screws connecting the hanger ball to the fan as advantageously as the screws copulative the fan bracket to the ceiling.^[21]

   • A unsteady lover may also be a subscribe of improper installation or warped fan blades. If you believe that this is the case, hire an electrician to come and look at your ceiling fan.
   • Sometimes, fans are installed with the unsuitable electrical box or with the wrong bolts.

4. 4

   Counterbalance the blades if the fan still wobbles after you've tightened the screws. You can purchase a balancing kit online OR from a computer hardware store, or you can brawl it yourself using coins. Tape a mint to the center of a fan blade and sprain the fan connected high. Repeat the process on each steel until you notice that the careen has diminished. Once you chassis out which sword needs to be counterbalanced, tape 2-3 quarters to it blade to make it heavier. This may stop the careen from your fan.^[22]

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• Question

  Why did my ceiling fan stop working?

  

  Kevin Turner is a handyman and the owner of Coloured Gator Maintenance, a jack of all trades business based in Fresno, CA. Functioning on odd-job man-related projects since the maturat of 12, Kevin specializes in a wide variety of home improvement projects such As (simply not pocket-size to) lighting/electric, plumbing, deck staining, drywall repairs, cabinet instalmen, air conditioning, methamphetamine removal, and windowpane, roof, and contrivance repairs.

  

  Commercial Jack of all trades

  Expert Resolve

  Fans often full stop working if you pull as well hard on the chain, which causes the tack inside to disclose.

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Clause Summary X

To name a job with your ceiling fan, start by flipping the electrical switch to the fan and pulling on the cord that turns happening its light. If both the fan and light don't turn around on, you power fitting need to see if the fan's lap has been tripped. In this lawsuit, find your breaker and flip the switch connected to your fan. If the light turns on, but the devotee doesn't ferment, there's most likely an issue with the motor. Therein case, head to the circle boxes and turn the power off to the fan before removing the cover that connects the fan to the ceiling. Once the fan's wires are unprotected, crack that they are all properly neighboring and non worn or burnt. You'll deman to link an linesman if everything looks fine and your devotee standing doesn't work, as IT might cause a broken motor. For much tips, like how to check the wall switch with a volt reader, scroll down!

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How to Fix a Broken Pull Chain on a Ceiling Fan

Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Diagnose-a-Problem-in-Your-Ceiling-Fan