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How to Connect the Wires of a Ceiling Fan

I bought a new ceiling fan and can not figure out the wiring. How do I wire it? Connecting the Wires for a Ceiling Fan Made Easy.

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Wiring a Ceiling Fan
[ad#block] Electrical Question: I bought a new ceiling fan and can not figure out the wiring. How do I wire it?

My ceiling fan and light quit all of a sudden. I looked at wiring and couldn’t see anything wrong. I guessed the fan was bad so I bought a new one and took the old one down. Went to install the new one but could not figure out the wiring.

Coming out of the ceiling box I had 1 black wire, 1 bare ground wire. I had 2 white wires connected.
Finally I had 2 black and 1 white wire all connected.
The 2 black and white had a strip of tape wrapped around the ends with something written on the strips.
I am guessing these had something to do with the wall switch that turned everything on.
In my installation instructions for the fan it says to connect the black and black n white striped wires to the black from the ceiling.
Then it says to connect the bare ground wire from the ceiling to the green fan wire.
Next it says to connect the white wire from the fan to the white wire in the ceiling.
This is the problem which white wire?
Do I separate the 2 white wires that are already wire nutted or what?

This electrical wiring question came from Dan.

Dave’s Reply:
Thanks for your electrical wiring question Dan.

Connecting the Wires for a Ceiling Fan

Wiring connections for a ceiling fan may seem overwhelming when wiring to a wall switch for the fan motor and the light fixture, but this should help you out.

White wires found in the ceiling junction box are sometimes used for switching when a wall switch is used. Typically these white wires are identified with black tape or a black marker.
The extra white wires are best identified using a voltage tester, and it would be helpful to examine the wires that are attached to the wall switch and compare this to the wires found in the ceiling junction box.
If the ceiling fan has two white wires and the ceiling junction box wiring only has one white wire then typically the two white wires of the ceiling fan connect to the single white wire found in the ceiling junction box.

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FAQs Frequently Asked Questions and Comments

2 Responses to “How to Connect the Wires of a Ceiling Fan”

Wendy says:

July 17, 2014 at 7:10 pm

I am replacing a fan in an old house. The new fan has a white, a black, a blue and a green ground. The wires that are coming out of the ceiling are a two white, a single black, and a black and white twisted together. I figured that the white went to white, the black went to black and the black/white went to blue? And then ground somewhere! I am lost help.
Dave Rongey says:

July 18, 2014 at 11:01 am

Hi Wendy,
The wiring of the ceiling fan will depend on how many wall switches are used, and if so how the switches have been wired. Please see the detailed ceiling fan wiring diagrams found at the resources provided in this main article, I think they will assist you with wiring your ceiling fan.
I hope this helps,
Dave

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Please Note:
Unless otherwise posted, please refer to the following Guidelines when working on Electrical Projects:

Skill Level:
Intermediate to Advanced - Electrical Repairs and Circuit Wiring is Best Performed by a Certified Electrician or Licensed Electrical Contractor.

Electrical Tools Required:
Basic Electricians Pouch of Hand Tools, a Voltage Tester and a Multi Meter.

Estimated Time:
Depends on personal level experience, ability to work with tools, work with electrical wiring, and the available access to the project area.

Precaution:
Identify the project circuit, turn it OFF and Tag it with a Note before working with the wiring.

Important:
Modifying existing electrical circuits or installing additional electrical wiring should be done according to local and National Electrical Codes, with a permit and be inspected.