Ceiling fan electrical issue

[Sgt Beavis]

One of our rooms has a ceiling fan that we bought at Lowes several years ago. Recently all four of the CFL bulbs we put in it started blowing out. I put in incandescent bulbs but they aren't getting a lot of juice and are pretty dimly lit. Do any of the DFWmustang electricians have any ideas what might be going on?

There is no dimmer switch and everything was working fine up until late last week..

The Fan is made by Harbor Breeze and has a push button light control switch that has four buttons for the fan speed and one single button for the lights.

[crooner]

One of our rooms has a ceiling fan that we bought at Lowes several years ago. Recently all four of the CFL bulbs we put in it started blowing out. I put in incandescent bulbs but they aren't getting a lot of juice and are pretty dimly lit. Do any of the DFWmustang electricians have any ideas what might be going on?

There is no dimmer switch and everything was working fine up until late last week..

The Fan is made by Harbor Breeze and has a push button light control switch that has four buttons for the fan speed and one single button for the lights.

Does it make a crackle sound at the switch when the lights are on?

[crooner]

One of our rooms has a ceiling fan that we bought at Lowes several years ago. Recently all four of the CFL bulbs we put in it started blowing out. I put in incandescent bulbs but they aren't getting a lot of juice and are pretty dimly lit. Do any of the DFWmustang electricians have any ideas what might be going on?

There is no dimmer switch and everything was working fine up until late last week..

The Fan is made by Harbor Breeze and has a push button light control switch that has four buttons for the fan speed and one single button for the lights.

But, normally if your lights are dim your not getting enough voltage to the fixture wires. If you feel up to it you can check the voltage at the light wire whip. You should be able to take off the light kit and it will have two wires connected to it a hot (prolly black) and a neutral (white) check that with a volt meter you should get 120V. Make sure you take it apart when it's turned off and any exposed wires dont touch the metal light fixture body.

Those remote fan switches suck. You should have a receiver above the fan in the ceiling which is controlled by the switch on the wall. We replace a good number of those a year for different issues.

I would offer to come look and help you but, my company no longer allows side work and someone just got fired for getting caught. I think Rusty*** (screen-name) does electrical side work.

Lutron makes a good fan control but you re going to pay for it.

[Sgt Beavis]

Ok, I'll get the neighbors voltmeter and start checking things this weekend.

Thanks

[Hmbre97]

[STANGGT40]

it sounds like a loose neutral issue, but it could be anywhere; even in the fixture itself.

[STANGGT40]

just an fyi, it is fairly common, especially on houses built in the 80s, to have receptacles with wires "stabbed" in the back that come loose. they used to make receptacles with these stab-in connections that didn't have a screw to tighten the connection down, and they become loose and pop out. if that is the case, then the neutral wire can be barely making connection, which would cause the issues that you're dealing with. you might try pulling a receptacle, just to see how it's wired. i'm not a fan of wiring through a receptacle; i like to connect the wires together and "pigtail" to the receptacle, but many people will connect the wires to both terminals on the receptacle...when you do this, you're relying on the receptacle to maintain connection to complete the circuit. if you lose a neutral, it can create some real havoc, especially on electronics.

[mustngacman]

I just went thru the same thing with my Harbor Breeze fan and it ended up being the capacitor. I did some searching and found out who makes the fans for Lowes and called them. They sent me a capacitor for free. If you find out this is what it is call
Litex at 1-800-527-1292

[RuStYpNuS]

you really wanna know the problem.

that lutron control is actually a dimmer i believe...put regular lamps in it and hold the light button down. that should dim the light.

also they make dimmable CFLs that are readily available compared to a few years ago

on a side note if its a wireless control, there is a way to open the control check the dipswitches. normally 1-4 are all on and if your neighbor has the same settings he can control your shit and vice versa.......lemme know if this helps and if you have any further questions

[Sgt Beavis]

Crooner nailed it. I replaced controller and everything started working perfectly..

Thanks for the assist.

[RuStYpNuS]

Crooner nailed it. I replaced controller and everything started working perfectly..

Thanks for the assist.

for shits and grins hold that light button down and see if the lights dim

[Sgt Beavis]

for shits and grins hold that light button down and see if the lights dim

ahh shit..

[STANGGT40]

ahh shit..

i didn't even notice that you have a remote...rustypnus is right...they usually have a dimmer function, which isn't going to be good for a fluorescent, unless it's a dimmable fluorescent.

[Sgt Beavis]

i didn't even notice that you have a remote...rustypnus is right...they usually have a dimmer function, which isn't going to be good for a fluorescent, unless it's a dimmable fluorescent.

Yea, I figured the CFL's died because of that.

I showed it to my wife this morning and she was fairly embarrassed. I pulled the old control unit out of the trash. I figure I can find a use for it in the future..

[RuStYpNuS]

ahh shit..

i didn't even notice that you have a remote...rustypnus is right...they usually have a dimmer function, which isn't going to be good for a fluorescent, unless it's a dimmable fluorescent.