[cefoxman]

Just purchased 1 year old home. Installed a light to existing fan, but light only works with pull chain. Does not work with wall switch; light works independent of switch. How can I get the light to work via the switch?

[RickeyD]

Wire the light in series/parallel with the fan (internal to the fan) this is the cheapest way.

[pajim]

if you don"t know you better get an electrician

[tomwed]

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i agree with the poster who said to get an electrician

[Chatbrat]

In the ceiling box that holds the fan, there is a red wire that is not being used, attach that wire ro the blue wire on the fan.

In the wall switch box attach the red wire to a switch and provide power to the switch.

All fan boxes in the Villages are prewired like this.

[TheVillageChicken]

Originally Posted by RickeyD

Wire the light in series with the fan (internal to the fan) this is the cheapest way.

Horrible advice. If wired in series, the light and the fan will each only get a portion of the 110 VAC. If they were of equal wattage, they would each get 55 Volts.

[Bob P]

I wrestled with the same problem and finally called Pikes electrical. The electrician knew exactly what to do and I have had no problems since.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

In the ceiling box that holds the fan, there is a red wire that is not being used, attach that wire ro the blue wire on the fan.

In the wall switch box attach the red wire to a switch and provide power to the switch.

All fan boxes in the Villages are prewired like this.

Chatbrat answered your question. It is an easy DIY if you are comfortable with working with wiring/switches. Replace the single wall switch with a duplex (double switch), one connected to black wire, the other to the red wire. You then control the fan or the light independent of each other.

If you are not comfortable with DIY, it is a simple job for an electrician.



Don

[dirtbanker]

Originally Posted by cefoxman

Just purchased 1 year old home. Installed a light to existing fan, but light only works with pull chain. Does not work with wall switch; light works independent of switch. How can I get the light to work via the switch?

If there is only 1 switch on the wall, there is only 1 controlled supply of power to the ceiling fixture and thus the pull chain switches would be the control for either function (fan or light). If you wish to have the ability to turn the light on independent of the fan at wall switch, you will need to get 2 switches in that wall box. You can achieve that with a "combo switch" providing there is a 3 wire romex from wall switch box to ceiling box. If they only installed 2 wire romex from wall switch box to ceiling you would have to pull new wire to achieve that desire.

[villagetinker]

Please, Please, Please, if you are not sure what you are doing, and have the equipment (a voltmeter) to check your work, call an electrician.

Entering the text wiring diagram for a ceiling fan with two switches into Google will get you the wiring diagrams.

Hope this helps.

[handyman]

I ran into an instance where both hot ,red and black were run straight through the switch box and and the white neutral went through the switch this would need correcting,the white neutral should remain neutral and connected through to fixture, the red and black HOT wires should go through the dual throw switch,red to red ,black to black,put your trust in a good voltage tester or an electrician that really knows what he is doing,this was in a home built in 2011,I advised my friend to call home warranty and ask for another electrical inspection.

[villagetinker]

I did the minor wiring change to all 4 fans in my house, but I am not a licensed electrician and cannot do this for others. As I pointed out previously the diagrams are on Google. All of mine had the red wire run between the fan and the switch box, and 2 of the fans actually had the red wire already connected to the fan blue (aka light) wire. The other 2 needed to have that connection made. The local hardware stores all carry the dual switch (note it will go side to side and not up and down like the existing).
BE VERY CAREFUL AT LEAST 1 OR 2 OF THE SWITCHES I PURCHASED HAD A LINK INSTALLED THAT COULD INTERFERE WITH THE CORRECT OPERATION OF YOUR FAN AND LIGHT.
As I stated before, if you are not sure exactly what you are doing, hire a licensed electrician.

[handyman]

Villagetinker is right, if you have any doubt,call a pro!

[Paper1]

Originally Posted by cefoxman

Just purchased 1 year old home. Installed a light to existing fan, but light only works with pull chain. Does not work with wall switch; light works independent of switch. How can I get the light to work via the switch?

I believe the wiring is done this way intentionally as these are a cash cow for electrical contractors. Why would you install wiring and not install a double switch?

[tomwed]

How to Wire a Ceiling Fan With a Light With Different Switches : Ceiling Fan Projects

url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwWhBDKkjZQ[/url]