Ceiling Fan Installation Help - 2 pairs of wires to deal with?
July 1st, 2009 | 
Author:
Hello,
I took down a ceiling fan in a small bedroom my wife and I re-modeled… Its been far too long to remember how the wiring was setup when I took the original down (just old/dirty but still worked fine..). Anyways, the original worked by chain pulls for both fan/light but power could be turned on/off to the unit via the switch on the wall - pretty common setup I suppose…
Now - I am trying to install the new ceiling fan… somehow I’ve bypassed the light switch - meaning: I have successfully powered up the light/fan (which work by the pull chains) but the switch on the wall doesn’t work to turn power on/off to the new unit…
Current Wiring:
White (ceiling) to White (fan)
Black (ceiling) to Black/Blue (fan)
Green (ceiling mount) to Green (fan)
I know I have to incorporate the other pair somehow to loop it down to the switch - just not sure how to do so 
- any advice would be most helpful… thanks for your time Does it help that I’ve mentioned I have the thing powered up working properly by the chain pulls? Does this mean the pair hooked up to the new unit must be the power feed, right? I now have another pair (white/black) capped off waiting to be thrown into the mix…
The pair that are capped = switch loop ?
That’s right. They are the switch leg. Now take the white wire that is presently capped off and tie it to the black wire of the house. Now reconnect the fan’s black and blue wire to the black wire that is capped off. This will give you switch operation. Now, there is another option here. You can choose to tie the fan’s black wire to the house’s black and the white of the switch leg together. To do it like this will mean the you can operate ethe light completely from the fan. Leave the switch off and use the fans pull chain to operate the fan. If I can be of anymore help. email me.
With this being said, it is always best to hire a pro to do electrical work as electricity kills.
Posted in Small Ceiling Fan
I think you are missing a wire here or something.I just sent an answer on a similar problem just a while ago.check out this link and see the second diagram .It may be what you are looking for! http://www.make-my-own-house.com/light-switch-wiring.html
References :
I have been in the same boat as you I just changed out a fan and it had an extra pair of wires the way mine work which could be different from your. I just hooked up the white from the power to one of the wires going to the switch and then the other wire going to the switch to the white on the fan. I burned out a dimmer switch the first time because I tried to hook up the colors together and it did not work. So be very careful you could start a fire if you are not or hurt yourself so be very careful.
References :
That’s right. They are the switch leg. Now take the white wire that is presently capped off and tie it to the black wire of the house. Now reconnect the fan’s black and blue wire to the black wire that is capped off. This will give you switch operation. Now, there is another option here. You can choose to tie the fan’s black wire to the house’s black and the white of the switch leg together. To do it like this will mean the you can operate ethe light completely from the fan. Leave the switch off and use the fans pull chain to operate the fan. If I can be of anymore help. email me.
With this being said, it is always best to hire a pro to do electrical work as electricity kills.
References :
Electrician since 1977