Electrical help (1 Viewer)

[Ghostrider I]

I have a dimmer light switch in my study that's wonky. Occasionally the light/fan goes on, flickers, or does not go on.

I'm very gun shy about dealing with electric work in a house. Wife would like it taken care of ASAP. Any takers?

PM me if you can do it. I'm in S. Charlotte. Good beers and depending on how involved the fix is, a grilled rib eye steak dinner done by me will be payment.

 

[coinoperated40]

Not sure if you are saying that the dimmer switch works the fan also or is it independent. I thought dimmers were for lights only and fans had speeds. I am old school when it comes to electricity and maybe I am missing something.
Shane

 

[Ghostrider I]

Not sure if you are saying that the dimmer switch works the fan also or is it independent. I thought dimmers were for lights only and fans had speeds. I am old school when it comes to electricity and maybe I am missing something.
Shane

Dimmer and switch are one entity. Speed is controlled by by the chain on fan.

 

[Roxx]

Like above. I dont think you can put a dimmer in a fan motor. Turn dimmer all the way up and see if it starts working. You are better off calling an electrician that offering beer to a bunch of sparlies that will set your house on fire. Another thing is that some led bulbs are not dimmable. Good luck

 

[coinoperated40]

@Roxx is correct. Is 110 volts going directly to the fan and not through dimmer? Some fans are set with extra wires for that set up. LED’s also come into play as well as how many bulbs (if regular ones) are you trying to dim.

 

[lt1fire]

Yeah get an electrician for something like this. Most people aren't going to mess around with someone else's home electrics just from a liability aspect.

 

[forrest5000]

Did the dimmer switch come with the fan?

 

[forrest5000]

I know minka aire has a fan controls that replace switch that also has dimmer. Fairly common.

 

[Ghostrider I]

Did the dimmer switch come with the fan?

Don't know, it was already on the wall. I installed the fan prior to moving into my condo.

 

[JohnVee]

Don't know, it was already on the wall. I installed the fan prior to moving into my condo.

And there is likely your problem. If you installed a fan/light combo where there was only a light before, replace the dimmer with a standard 15amp on-off and see what happens (as long as you know what you're looking at at the connections). As mentioned, fans don't like dimmers. The fan instructions probably have a section for wiring two switches (either 2 1-gang switches or a 2-switch 1-gang switch) but this will require different wires than you have if it was simply a light that used to be up there.

I'll also echo the others who said that folks probably won't be too interested in messing with 110V in somebody else's house. Too many problems can be hiding in the walls. Sucks to pay somebody, but sucks worse to die or burn something down.

 

[roadstr6]

First things first. Flip the breaker off. Check the connections at the switch. You may just have a loose connection. Remove switch cover, take out the switch and see if there's any loose wires. If it has been shorting, there will likely be some sooty burned spots. If you find a loose wire, fix it. If you don't, move on to the fan connection in the ceiling and do the same. If you find no problems with the connections on either end, replace the switch. You can do this yourself with nothing more than a screwdriver and some time and effort.

 

[angerhater]

the fan and light should have different feeds if using a dimmer on the light. fan circuit should not be on a dimmer.
1. shut off the breaker
2. take off the switch plate
3. call me, we can figure it out.