Electrical question

I bought a ceiling fan, and I'm installing it myself - there is already a fan rough-in in the ceiling.

Here's my ordeal, there are 4 wires coming out of the ceiling.
a bare copper - which is ground i'm sure
a white - which is neutral i think
a black - which is hot
and a red - which i assume is hooked up to the switch in the wall

the fan has a remote module, which has a red and a white that hook to the ceiling wires
red is AC IN L
white is AC IN N (no idea what the L and N is)

the remote mod also has 3 wires out (to fan)
blue - (goes to blue (light) on the fan)
black (TO MOTO L)
white (TO MOTOR N)

I would like to have BOTH the light switch AND the remote work for the lights - is this possible?
Can i just hook the red from the light switch (assuming the red is in fact from the light switch) with the blue from the remote and the blue from the fan?

Also, is there any way to verify that the red is in fact for the switch? (i don't have a voltometer or any of that fancy stuff)

 

[Encryptic]

My advice: Call an electrician or this post may be your last. Electricity is definitely not something you want to fsck around with unless you know what you're doing.

The fact that you're saying this: "(i don't have a voltometer or any of that fancy stuff)", is definitely a warning sign that Darwin is ready to bitch-slap you off the planet without any advance notice.

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: jntdesign
Also, is there any way to verify that the red is in fact for the switch? (i don't have a voltometer or any of that fancy stuff)

If you don't even have a DMM you shouldn't be trying to rewire a fan.

 

Well i want to learn this stuff. I plan to finish my basement and do all the wiring myself later this year.

What do i need? I'm intelligent and willing to learn.

 

[NutBucket]

L = load
N= neutral

Load is usually black. White is neutral. You can get yourself a $5 tester from the hardware store to test which wire is load or positive.

Bare copper is ALWAYS ground. As far as your red wire....I have no idea.

 

[Heisenberg]

Originally posted by: jntdesign
Well i want to learn this stuff. I plan to finish my basement and do all the wiring myself later this year.

What do i need? I'm intelligent and willing to learn.

Well, I think a DMM is a must. Not only can you directly verify there's no voltage present before you touch things, it'll also help troubleshoot problems. You can get by with a simple test light, but I prefer to know exactly how much line voltage is there. I have no idea what the red wire is for. It's probably something standard for fan/light fixtures, but I don't know what.

 

[HonkeyDonk]

Me and my dad just installed a ceiling fan in my room.

Like what you said, we had 4 wires coming out of the ceiling.

I would highly recommend you read the manual that came with your fan. Mine had lots of helpful/detailed diagrams showing you what wires were supposed to be connected to what.

I had a bare wire (ground), black, white, and blue. I forget which wires were which, but the install guide/manual should tell you how to set it up.

Good luck, and make sure the switch in the room is OFF. but i'm sure you already knew that.

 

So, safety aside, can i hook the light wire from the remote receiver together with the wire for the switch to make both the switch AND the remote work for the lights?

 

[NutBucket]

I don't want to say that it is. I will say that as long as you have the breaker for that circuit off (and make sure its really off), the worst you'll likely do is either fry some component for your fan or trip the breaker.

 

[Heisenberg]

Surely this fan came with instructions. What do they say?

 

[Armitage]

IANAE!
So use this advice at your own risk (which is considerable when playing with electricity!)

First: Go get yourself a voltmeter. They are cheap.
Second: Kill the breaker to this outlet. Use the voltmeter to be sure you got the right one.

Originally posted by: jntdesign
I bought a ceiling fan, and I'm installing it myself - there is already a fan rough-in in the ceiling.

Here's my ordeal, there are 4 wires coming out of the ceiling.
a bare copper - which is ground i'm sure
a white - which is neutral i think
a black - which is hot
and a red - which i assume is hooked up to the switch in the wall

Copper is ground, white is neutral.
Black and Red are both hot. You probably have two switches controlling this outlet ... one for the fan, and one for the lights.

the fan has a remote module, which has a red and a white that hook to the ceiling wires
red is AC IN L
white is AC IN N (no idea what the L and N is)

the remote mod also has 3 wires out (to fan)
blue - (goes to blue (light) on the fan)
black (TO MOTO L)
white (TO MOTOR N)

My guess at this point is that the remote module handles splitting and switching the fan & light independently. Sou you really don't need the two hot lines going into the box as you described earlier. Read the instructions that came with the fan to be sure.

If that is the case, you can put a wire nut on the end of the red wire coming out of the ceiling box, and stuff it back out of the way. You can then take out the extra switch that controlled it and similarly cap off the wires you disconnect.

It seems you should connect the red wire on the module to the black wire in the ceiling box, and the white to white. There should be somwhere on the body of the fan to connect the ground wire.

Your instructions should cover connecting the remote module to the fan.

I would like to have BOTH the light switch AND the remote work for the lights - is this possible?
Can i just hook the red from the light switch (assuming the red is in fact from the light switch) with the blue from the remote and the blue from the fan?

If you do that, then you've bypassed the remote ... it will be only controlled by the wall switch.

Also, is there any way to verify that the red is in fact for the switch? (i don't have a voltometer or any of that fancy stuff)

You should pick up a basic residential wiring book. Take a look at that and you'll begin to have a better idea what's going on here.

 

[dartworth]

JUST READ THE FVCKING MANUAL DUDE...

They write them so a 10 year old can understand them...

 

[element]

I want to change a tire but i don't have a wrench or any of that fancy stuff can't I just use my teeth?

 

Originally posted by: element
I want to change a tire but i don't have a wrench or any of that fancy stuff can't I just use my teeth?

Hmmm...is that the smell of a parody thread?

 

[element]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: element
I want to change a tire but i don't have a wrench or any of that fancy stuff can't I just use my teeth?

Hmmm...is that the smell of a parody thread?

yeah but i thought I'd stick in in here else people who haven't seen this thread will be wondering wtf I'm talking about

also this avoids all the 1/10 comments pervasive throughout parody threads. of course now that I've mentioned it we'll see it here too...

in any event it was supposed to clue the OP in on voltmeters not being fancy equipment but rather necessities much like wrenches, screwdrivers and martini's. oops I got sidetracked there after the screwdriver bit.

 

[LordSnailz]

blah stop bashing the guy about reading the manual, he's apparently doing somethign that's not written on the manual ...

 

[DrPizza]

I'll do my best to answer your questions....

as we all know.... bare copper is ground. The wire from the fan may be either bare copper, bare copper with a clear plastic covering, or a green wire.

White is neutral in the box, and from the ceiling fan.

The black and red in the box are both hot. Since you mentioned only 1 switch, I would assume the red wire is on the switch. (I'm not 100% positive - THIS is where even a simple bulb tester comes in handy) You could ask any local electrician and he will tell you if it's the red or black that comes from the switch... code would dictate this.

Your switch can control either of them, both of them, or neither of them. You could, for example, connect your blue wire (that's the lights on the ceiling fan) as well as the black wire from the fans to the red wire... and just cap off the black wire in the box. Thus, everything would be controlled by the switch.

Regardless of which is on the switch, if the switch is *OFF*, your remote control isn't going to do anything to whichever the switch controls.

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, and personally, I wouldn't put the fan on the switch, just the lights. It's a pita to leave the fan on and turn out the lights otherwise, or turn on just the fan and not the lights.

I also find ceiling fan remotes to be a little... excessive...

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, and one further note: Provided you're not standing on an aluminum ladder, you can just touch the wire to figure out which is hot. Just make sure you're NOT in contact with another conductor, i.e. don't stand in a puddle of water while doing this. Put your other hand in your pocket. See if you gain any enjoyment out of the tingling sensation. Alternately, you can just short circuit between the red wire and white wire using a screwdriver or something. Be careful though, the flash and popping sound is QUITE startling, even when you expect it. (and 100 times more startling when you DON'T expect it)


edit: omg, I missed the capitalized "NOT" above.. how'd I leave that out!?

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Oh, and one further note: Provided you're not standing on an aluminum ladder, you can just touch the wire to figure out which is hot. Just make sure you're NOT in contact with another conductor, i.e. don't stand in a puddle of water while doing this. Put your other hand in your pocket. See if you gain any enjoyment out of the tingling sensation. Alternately, you can just short circuit between the red wire and white wire using a screwdriver or something. Be careful though, the flash and popping sound is QUITE startling, even when you expect it. (and 100 times more startling when you DON'T expect it)


edit: omg, I missed the capitalized "NOT" above.. how'd I leave that out!?

Uhm ... while you can do the above, it's not a real good idea :roll:
Go out and spend $5 on a tester.

 

[GasX]

that foled up piece of paper that is still in the box has a wiring diagram that explains what you want to know...

 

[ErmanC]

And to think, this used to be a cool place to hang out. You guys give AT a bad name.
That aside, I think somewhere in here there's some good advice and he'll figure it out.


More power to him for taking the initiative to be a do-it-yourself'er and crap on you ney-sayers.

 

FYI for the assnuggets, the directions state nothing about using both the wireless remote control AND a wired wall switch

thanks for reading everything and your polite consideration

everything is hooked up and going now, btw
i used a lightbulb to test the red wire - sure enough, it was the wall switch - i capped it and tucked it away