Ceiling Fan Won't Shut Off???

[Bill H.]

All of the sudden the ceiling fan on our bathroom started running
continuously. It does not react to the wall switch, but can be shut off at
the breaker box. I replaced the wall switch thinking that might be the
problem, but the fan continues to do its thing without responding. I thought
of the unlikely possibility that I replaced a broken switch with a new one
that didn't work either, but checked the continuity of the switch I pulled
out and it does what switches should.

It is something that you might expect if the wiring to the fan was
improperly installed, but this is no new installation. It's been working for
the last 12 years and probably 20 before that so far as I know.

Any ideas?

Bill H.

[Joseph Meehan]

Begin Quote

but can be shut off at the breaker box.

End Quote

Darn, I though you had found the solution to the energy problem.

--
Dia 's Muire duit

Joe M

[Bill H.]

Hey, I hadn't thought about that! If only it didn't turn off at the breaker
box I could run a wire from the fan, power the rest of the house and
disconnect from Duke Power - a perpetual motion machine that generates
power. Might have had something there. Still, it sure is weird.
BH
Joseph Meehan <slig...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:VgHk5.21337$IX6.1...@typhoon.columbus.rr.com...

[Tony Miklos]

"Bill H." wrote:
>
> All of the sudden the ceiling fan on our bathroom started running
> continuously. It does not react to the wall switch, but can be shut off at
> the breaker box. I replaced the wall switch thinking that might be the
> problem, but the fan continues to do its thing without responding.

My guess is that someone hung a picture or put some kind of nail in the
wall and shorted out the switch wire.

--
Tony

[Dick]

Do you have a volt/ohm meter? With the Circuit Breaker off, check
continuity from the switch wires to the fan wires. You may have to
disconnect the fan to get realistic readings. With the switch open
there should be no continuity from the hot wire of the fan to the hot
wire from the circuit breaker. Seems like there must be a short there
somewhere.

"Bill H." wrote:
>
> All of the sudden the ceiling fan on our bathroom started running
> continuously. It does not react to the wall switch, but can be shut off at
> the breaker box. I replaced the wall switch thinking that might be the

[Phil Munro]

Could it be that there is a power feed going to the fan box? And
perhaps a short has developed from the power feed to the fan wire
keeping
the fan powered all the time.
Is there a heater in this fan box? Perhaps something has burned
through some insulation causing the problem.
Also, since you did not say it, I am assuming that the bathroom light
switch does not affect the fan.
And I hope you check the fan with the switch actually removed from the
box. Under those conditions you could, perhaps, check the voltages on
each wire going to the switch. (You may have done this already?)
Please let us know when you find the problem. --Phil

> "Bill H." wrote:
> >
> > All of the sudden the ceiling fan on our bathroom started running
> > continuously. It does not react to the wall switch, but can be shut off at
> > the breaker box. I replaced the wall switch thinking that might be the
> > problem, but the fan continues to do its thing without responding. I thought
> > of the unlikely possibility that I replaced a broken switch with a new one
> > that didn't work either, but checked the continuity of the switch I pulled
> > out and it does what switches should.
> >
> > It is something that you might expect if the wiring to the fan was
> > improperly installed, but this is no new installation. It's been working for
> > the last 12 years and probably 20 before that so far as I know.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > Bill H.

--
Phil Munro Dept of Electrical & Computer Engin
mailto:pcm...@cc.ysu.edu Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio 44555

[Bill H.]

I found the answer!!!

This one really bugged me and I could not figure out what was going on.
Then, I remembered that my wife and I were preparing the hallway for
repainting when she noticed an old humidstat control that had been there
unused since we bought the house 10 years ago. I had never paid any
attention to it in all that time because I assumed that it was one of many
useless controls which were connected to an old room heating system long
disconnected.

I was sure that it no longer worked either because we had the furnace
replaced several years ago and Buster, the guy that did it, said nothing
about a humidity control. Anyway, my wife turned the switch and said,
"Listen, it clicks when you turn it to 45." Again, I didn't pay any
attention and went about the usual scraping, sanding, priming, and painting.
(The hallway where the humidistat control is located is 4 rooms and about 50
feet away from the bathroom in question.)

But, somewhere, thinking about that danged fan and wondering what was going
on, I thought back to that minute or two with the old humidistat and began
wondering. Sure enough, I reconnected the fan (luckily it has a built in
plug under the vent cover) and played with the humidistat. The bathroom fan
goes on and off with that little click that my wife heard. Must either be a
short, or somebody doing some electrical work earlier connected the hot wire
from the old humidistat to the bathroom fan. Guess I'll have to get Dave the
electrician out to check into it once the attic cools off and he has some
time for this kind of thing. Meanwhile we'll leave that old humidity control
alone.

Thanks for your help. The ideas of a short somewhere were what I think
sparked my mind to think about this.

Bill H.

Phil Munro <pcm...@cc.ysu.edu> wrote in message
news:39957356...@cc.ysu.edu...

(SNIP, SNIP)>

[dipali...@gmail.com]

Fan is in off position bt still it is running... any idea what to do??

[Meanie]

On 9/15/2016 7:18 AM, dipali...@gmail.com wrote:
> Fan is in off position bt still it is running... any idea what to do??
>

Wall switch or ceiling fan switch?
Are there lights on the ceiling fan? Do they turn off?
If a wall switch and ceiling fan lights, do the lights turn off with the
wall switch?

If the ceiling fan has lights and when you activate/deactivate the wall
switch but one works and the other doesn't, then the problem lies in the
ceiling fan which would be the internal switch for the fan.

If there isn't a light on the fan, then you will need to cut the power
at the panel and test the switch and/or wiring to determine if it's the
fan switch or the wall switch.

[hrho...@att.net]

On Thursday, August 10, 2000 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Bill H. wrote:
> All of the sudden the ceiling fan on our bathroom started running
> continuously. It does not react to the wall switch, but can be shut off at
> the breaker box. I replaced the wall switch thinking that might be the
> problem, but the fan continues to do its thing without responding. I thought
> of the unlikely possibility that I replaced a broken switch with a new one
> that didn't work either, but checked the continuity of the switch I pulled
> out and it does what switches should.
>

> It is something that you might expect if the wiring to the fan was
> improperly installed, but this is no new installation. It's been working for
> the last 12 years and probably 20 before that so far as I know.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Bill H.

Who cares 16years later?????????????????

[Paint...@unlisted.moo]

The guy was decapitated by the fan while trying to stop it with his
hands..... The fan is still spinning 16 years later and his head
continues to rotate on one of the blades, except it's just a bony skull
now.

[Colonel Edmund J. Burke]

On 9/15/2016 4:18 AM, dipali...@gmail.com wrote:
> Fan is in off position bt still it is running... any idea what to do??
>

Replace the switch on the fan. They're called Zing Ears.

[Colonel Edmund J. Burke]

Such a complex "explanation" of a simple-minded problem.
LOL

[FromTheRafters]

After serious thinking Paint...@unlisted.moo wrote :

Wow, 48 years, impressive, what brand of fan was it.

[Meanie]

I don't see a date in Thunderbird. How can I resolve that?

[suep...@hotmail.com]

> > > > It is something that you might expect if the wiring to the fan was
> > > > improperly installed, but this is no new installation. It's been
> working for
> > > > the last 12 years and probably 20 before that so far as I know.
> > > >
> > > > Any ideas?
> > > >
> > > > Bill H.
> >

> > --
> > Phil Munro Dept of Electrical & Computer Engin
> > mailto:pcm...@cc.ysu.edu Youngstown State University
> > Youngstown, Ohio 44555

Hi Bill,

Good old internet!! (and you!!) I had the same problem. I took off the cover plate and looked at the switches everything seemed intact. Then I thought that the switch plate might be defective, so was going to buy another one...and call an electrician (I am not handy and did not want to blow up the house!!). However, I thought I'd check the internet and found your story. We had a guest staying in our house and she wasn't familiar with our thermostats, so must have turned up our humidity control. After reading about your experience I turned our control down and instantly the fan stopped! Thank you for saving me an electrician call!!

[rsch...@hotmail.com]

18 years after you posted this, it proved to be very helpful! We are spending the holidays at our little mountain retreat cabin and suddenly had the same issue with the bathroom vent not shutting off, even with the wall switch in the off position. After removing the wall switch completely, the fan was still running (as long as breaker was on). Confused, I turned to the internet and came across this post. I realized then that I had played with the humidity controller (wall mounted dial) for the first time ever yesterday (we were told by the building inspector when we purchased the cabin to just leave it off, it wouldn't provide much benefit in this climate). Same result as you saw when turning that dial. I'm guessing the humidity control is hard wired to the bathroom vent in order to circulate air and draw moisture out when the humidity gets too high.
Glad I found this...saved me from calling an electrician to a relatively remote location.