Electrical question.

[Bike N Gear]

Here's the abbreviated story.

My son's ceiling fan light started flashing a while ago. Eventually, the light wouldn't work, but fan would. I go to install a replacement socket for the 20 year old one. When I flip the wall switch back on there is an audible pop from the direction of the light. Nothing. Fan and light are dead.

Figuring I'm dealing with 20 year old cheap HD fan so I just ordered a new one. Finished installing that after yesterday's CR ride. Conditions great BTW.

A smarter person would have checked for power before that last step. Now I partially remove the top of the ceiling fan working thru the blades to access all the wires I stuffed up in there. Grab a volt meter and there is no power coming out of the ceiling.

Ok. Maybe the dimmer at the wall blew. That is 20 years old too. Swap that out with an old switch laying in the basement. There is power at the switch, but nothing out of the wires at the ceiling.

I'm at a loss here. My only thought before my wife calls an electrician is to go into attic and cut out the plywood floor just above this fixture and take a look down. Not fun in a 100+ degree attic. Plus, I have parts showing up today to fix the oven ignitor that just blew the other day and then there are those 2 weeks worth of repairs at the shop that still need to be done.

What to look for?

 

[Magic]

@Patrick will fix anything for a free bike.

 

[trailhead]

redo/replace all wire nut connections.

 

[Bike N Gear]

@Patrick will fix anything for a free bike.

That assumes I actually have bikes in inventory.

 

[JimN]

That assumes I actually have bikes in inventory.

He takes IOU's.

 

[Strugglebus]

Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a J box somewhere in the ceiling or wall that the connection came apart in

 

[Steve Vai]

Fire. New House?

 

[ekuhn]

Is it possible when you wired in the socket that hooked up one wire in the wrong spot? I dont know if they all shared a neutral or not.

The ceiling fan box may also feed other outlets or other fans. No issue at any other spot in the house?

Did you check to make sure you didn't trip the breaker or blow the fuse? Hitting the switch and hearing a pop, indicates to me that you tripped the circuit.

 

[scotth]

Power at switch but (not) through the switch to the fan?
Did you check that you have an intact neutral (grounded) wire, present? You can have voltage but not a neutral and you don’t have a complete circuit.

if it worked and then didn’t work you can assume the wires go to the right place...

I’d confirm you put splices back together correctly, it’s not always color to color.

your feed can be coming through the fan box to the switch, then back to the fan. You’d need to make sure it’s spliced accordingly.

a splice could have come apart and still be under a wire nut....check for that and that the wire is clean

it could also be going through the switch first
splice accordingly

the power (off the breaker) needs to be controlled by some means before hitting the fan.....the neutral can stay in fan box if it goes there first

 

[Bike N Gear]

Power at switch but (not) through the switch to the fan?
Did you check that you have an intact neutral (grounded) wire, present? You can have voltage but not a neutral and you don’t have a complete circuit.

if it worked and then didn’t work you can assume the wires go to the right place...

I’d confirm you put splices back together correctly, it’s not always color to color.

your feed can be coming through the fan box to the switch, then back to the fan. You’d need to make sure it’s spliced accordingly.

a splice could have come apart and still be under a wire nut....check for that and that the wire is clean

it could also be going through the switch first
splice accordingly

the power (off the breaker) needs to be controlled by some means before hitting the fan.....the neutral can stay in fan box if it goes there first

I need to check again tonight. But I completely disconnected the new fan and just looked for voltage out of the wires coming out of the box at the ceiling. Black, white, ground. No combination found voltage.

 

[Bike N Gear]

Is it possible when you wired in the socket that hooked up one wire in the wrong spot? I dont know if they all shared a neutral or not.

The ceiling fan box may also feed other outlets or other fans. No issue at any other spot in the house?

Did you check to make sure you didn't trip the breaker or blow the fuse? Hitting the switch and hearing a pop, indicates to me that you tripped the circuit.

First thing I checked. Breaker has been on and off while working. That's fine as I'm using a lamp in the room to check.

 

[Jmann]

Do you have a multimeter and some spare romex? I would check for continuity of each wire from the switch to the receptacle. I say spare romex because it’s likely too far of a stretch for a multimeter’s probe wires. If I was in your shoes I would want to confirm continuity of the wiring. Any loss of continuity would indicate a bigger problem relating to a break in wiring. If they all have continuity it could just be an improper connection at the switch.

 

[serviceguy]

maybe a stupid question but is there any GFCI outlet connected to the same circuit by any chance?

 

[Bike N Gear]

Do you have a multimeter and some spare romex? I would check for continuity of each wire from the switch to the receptacle. I say spare romex because it’s likely too far of a stretch for a multimeter’s probe wires. If I was in your shoes I would want to confirm continuity of the wiring. Any loss of continuity would indicate a bigger problem relating to a break in wiring. If they all have continuity it could just be an improper connection at the switch.

Good thought. My basement has spare everything. I didn't want to fix that stove tonight anyway.

 

[Bike N Gear]

maybe a stupid question but is there any GFCI outlet connected to the same circuit by any chance?

I'll check the hallway bathroom tonight. Anything is possible.

 

[Bike N Gear]

maybe a stupid question but is there any GFCI outlet connected to the same circuit by any chance?

Nevermind. Had my wife check. Apparently we have a bathroom without a gfi. Something else for me to fix. Gotta love young builders flipping houses.

 

[68nova200]

Is there a gfi in another bathroom/ room? They could be on the same circuit. Wiring problems suck to track down...

 

[Bike N Gear]

Is there a gfi in another bathroom/ room? They could be on the same circuit. Wiring problems suck to track down...

There is, but when that one goes it kills the lights in the bathroom and more importantly the outlet for my wife's hair dryer. I would have been told about that right away.

 

[Mr.Moto]

Another silly question - after changing out the switch, it sounded like you check for power going into it. Did you check for power coming out?

 

[Bike N Gear]

Another silly question - after changing out the switch, it sounded like you check for power going into it. Did you check for power coming out?

Will be double checking everything again. By the time I started checking the power I had ridden CR, come to the shop and did about 12 repairs, removed the old fan, and installed the new one. I was really looking forward to a beer, not ripping everything apart again. Plus I have a wife who is a construction project manger who likes to look over my shoulder just to annoy me.

We have a friend who has a 10 foot rule in his house when ever he is working on anything. No family member is allowed to get withing 10 feet of him. Just cause annoying.