You are back home on a hot day and want to sit down under your fan and chill out and you switch on the ceiling fan and find it either not working at all or giving all sorts of problems. This can be frustrating.

Let us now discuss some of the problems and their solutions related to ceiling fans.

The Ceiling Fan Doesn't Work at all

If your ceiling fan is not working at all, you need to make sure it is receiving electrical power from its switch and from the circuit breaker or the fuse box. You need to First check the circuit breaker or fuse. If the breaker and the fuse are OK then check the switch. Here is how you can check the fan switch:

1) Turn off the power to the fan.

2) Unscrew the screws that mount the switch to the electrical box.

3) Use a voltage / current tester to check the screw terminals on the side of the switch to make sure they are not hot or charged and then gently pull the switch out from the box.

4) Unscrew the wires from the two terminals and straighten their ends with a pair of pliers.

5) Twist the two bare ends together and screw a wire nut onto the twisted pair.

6) Turn the switch on. If the fan goes on and starts working, the switch is bad. Buy a new switch and install it. If the fan still doesn’t work, the problem is in the wiring or the fixture.

7) Turn off the power to the circuit, reconnect the switch and restore the power to the circuit, and check the fan fixture or call an electrician.

If your ceiling fan makes a humming noise when it runs, you may be able to fix the problem by changing the control. Buy a control compatible with your fan with an anti-hum feature. Be sure the control has an amperage rating equal to or greater than the requirement of your fan. Please note that multiple fans or fans with lights may require special controls.

Here is how you can fix the problem of a ceiling fan making a humming sound:

1) Turn off the power to the fan at the circuit breaker.

2) Check the fan’s switch to make sure it is off.

3) Remove the faceplate and the switch. Use a voltage / current tester to make sure that the wires connected to the fan switch are not hot or charged.

4) Disconnect the wires from the switch.

5) Straighten the ends of the wires in the electrical box and twist them together with the wires of the new anti-hum fan control.

6) Add wire nuts, screw the control to the electrical box, reattach the faceplate, and restore power. You are done. If this doesn’t fix the problem, call an electrician.

Little wobble with any ceiling fan is common but significant wobble can be dangerous. Check the source of the wobble. In most cases, wobble happens when a fan has been hung from a regular ceiling electrical box instead of an electrical box that is rated for fans. Because of its weight and constant movement, a fan exerts far more force on the electrical box than a light. If a fan works its way loose, it could come crashing down and this can be quite dangerous and harmful. Here is what you need to do:

1) Unscrew and lower the bracket housing at the ceiling. Check the electrical box. Also check to see how it is fastened. U-bolts or lag screws should connect the metal box to a bracket or solid wood block in the attic.

2) If the fan hangs from the wrong type of box or is not properly supported, call a fan-installation specialist, an electrician to install the fan properly and solve the problem.

3) Check the support bracket and check if it is firm or not, if not, tighten it.

4) If your fan hangs from a drop rod, be sure the ball joint at the top of the drop rod is properly engaged with the fan support bracket.

5) Check and tighten all bolts and screws.

6) Check if the blade tips hang an even distance from the ceiling. If not, one or more of the blades may be bent or warped. Report this to the manufacturer for a replacement.