Trouble Shootin

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brother

Senior Member
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"I have learned, in whatsoever STATE I am, therewi
Had a ceiling fan installed in an old house. Old knob and tube wiring. Before i hook it up to a circuit, i made sure i had a circuit. well odd thing happen, the kitchen lite switch is on and lite is on, the fan will not work, no power.
But when the switch is off it will. i double check the switch and it is a 'single poll' ordinary switch.

I will go in tommorrow, but i think that the neutral is switched and their may be a voltage drop cause soon as i turn on the lite switch the fan stops but the lite comes on in the kitchen.
What is your oppinion of whats happening?
 
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jeff43222

Senior Member
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Re: Trouble Shootin

I don't think it's a switched neutral that's causing this. Whether the neutral or the hot is opened, it still opens the circuit. Also, you mentioned that the fan only works when the light is off, which, if your switched neutral theory were correct, would prevent the fan from working.

My guess is that the ceiling fan is connected in series with the kitchen light. This is illegal, of course, but it would explain why the light seems to take priority over the fan. I would check voltages to verify this.
 
S

stamcon

Senior Member
Location
South San Francisco CA
Re: Trouble Shootin

Brother, unscrew the kitchen light bulb and see if you still have a "hot" conductor at the fan switch. If the light has a switched neutral, you might have tapped into the switch leg which is hot through the bulb.
 
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msd

Senior Member
Re: Trouble Shootin

After scratching my head for a while, I would open the switch box and see if there is a 3-way switch wired with 120 volts across the travelers and the common terminal going to the light box.

If I found this situation, I would educate myself on the topic of california/chicago 3-ways.

If wired in this fashion; the switchleg is going back and fourth between hot and neuteral every time the switch is flipped.
 
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a.wayne3@verizon.net

Guest
Re: Trouble Shootin

MSd I found a 3 way like that a few years ago.there was a garage light and a recep in a detached garage,but only 3 wires going there.I scratched my head and found the shell of the light would reverse polarity every tie the 3 way way actuated.This way there was always a hot and a neutral there for the recep.ingenious but not right!( I walked away from it ) :eek:
 
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