Many ceiling fans include light kits that can be controlled with a separate switch. Ceiling fans are often equipped with a separate light kit that hangs beneath the fan. Most common electrical cables include three conductors: a black wire to carry the hot feed, a white wire for the common and an unsheathed copper wire for the ground. For the light to be controlled by a switch that's separate from the fan, the wiring between the switch and the fan unit needs a fourth conductor, a red wire to carry the hot feed for the light kit. Turn off the circuit breaker at the breaker panel that provides power to the ceiling fan circuit. Test the wiring on the switches for the ceiling fan using a noncontact circuit tester to be certain that the power is off. Cut off 6 to 8 inches of outer sheathing from the electrical cable in the box in the ceiling where the fan is to be mounted using a utility knife. Then remove 1/2 inch of the colored insulator from each of the three insulated wires with a wire stripper.

Install the ceiling fan mounting plate to the electrical box in the ceiling using the two mounting screws supplied in the ceiling fan kit and a screwdriver. Feed the black, white, red and copper wires through the hole in the center of the mounting plate. Place the ceiling fan motor on the floor and position the canopy on top of the motor, feeding the fan wiring through the large hole in the center of the canopy. Then feed the wires through the down-rod pipe, and screw the pipe into the threaded coupler on top of the fan. Secure the rod into place by tightening the locking bolt on the side of the coupler with an adjustable wrench. Lift the assembled ceiling fan kit to the mounting bracket, and hang the canopy from the hook on the side of the mounting plate. Twist the black wire from the ceiling fan kit together with the black wire from the electrical box, and connect the exposed ends with a wire nut. Likewise, twist all of the white wires together. (There should be two white wires from the ceiling fan kit and one from the box.)

Third, connect the two green wires from the ceiling fan kit to the exposed copper wire with a wire nut. Finally, connect the red wire from the electrical box to the remaining wire from the ceiling fan. (This wire is commonly red or blue but almost always has a tag on the wire that reads "Light.") Remove the canopy from the hook and position the canopy over the mounting bracket. Affix the canopy to the mounting bracket by installing two mounting screws through the holes on each side of the canopy with a screwdriver. Assemble the fan blades by attaching a blade to a blade iron with the included screws. Then attach each blade to the motor with the two blade mounting screws. Attach the ceiling fan's light kit wiring to the wiring harness hanging beneath the fan motor. Mount the light kit to the motor by tightening the mounting screws. Install the lamp globes and light bulbs into the light kit. Turn on the circuit breaker and flip the corresponding switches to test the fan and light kit. If your fan and/or light kit are equipped with pull chains, you may need to turn the wall switches to the on position and then pull the chains to activate the fan and light.

: Wire a Ceiling Fan and Light Yourself Photo Credits Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionWritten If the box in the ceiling has red, black, white, and green (or bare copper), then there is a wall switch which energizes the red wire.  Disconnect power at the circuit breaker box and check with a meter or test light that the black wire is hot. Catch Dogs For Sale In East TexasAlso check the integrity of the white wire and the green/copper. Cheap Jacuzzi Suites MichiganIf all is well, you have several choices:If you do not wish to have a light kit on the ceiling fan, but do wish to turn it off and on with the wall switch, connect the black wire from the fan to the red wire in the ceiling box. Black And White Vinyl Flooring Uk

Put a wire nut on the exposed portion of the black wire in the ceiling box. Connect white to white and green/copper to green/copper.If you want the fan to be controlled by the switch on the wall and the light to be controlled by the pull chain on the fan, connect the red wire to the black wire on the fan and the black wire to the black wire on the light kit. Connect white to white and green/copper to green/copper. This is the most common way fans are wired.If you want the light controlled by the wall switch and the fan controlled by the pull chain, just reverse the connections, connecting the red wire in  the ceiling to the black wire in the light kit, and the black wire in the ceiling to the black wire in the fan. Written Another Quora answerer took care of this one last July. Here is his answer: "If you do not wish to have a light kit on the ceiling fan, but do wish to turn it off and on with the wall switch, connect the black wire from the fan to the red wire in the ceiling box. Connect white to white and green/copper to green/copper."

I recently replaced my bedroom ceiling fan with a newer ceiling fan and with the old fan I could: Use one switch on the wall to turn on/off the light Use the other switch on the wall to turn on/off the fan The new fan came with a remote and the remote and the chains are the only way I can turn the fan and the light on and off. This ONLY works, however, when one particular wall switches is on. During the installation, coming from my ceiling I had a black, white, and red wire. My instructions didn't include anything about connecting the red wire, so I just put a wire tie on it and proceeded. I now think this was connected to the wall switches. My basic questions are: Should I have ignored the red wire? What is the red wire for and why was it left out of the instructions? Why did I loose functionality with a newer fan (i.e. why can't I turn the lights and fan on/off via the switches on the wall?) When I turn on the lights, why does it make an brief buzz sound?

If I turn on the light from the chain I cannot turn it on/off because the light will turn off immediately. I can only turn on and off via the remote. Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a complete noob at this. The red wire is the ungrounded (hot) conductor from one switch, while the black wire is the ungrounded (hot) conductor from the other switch. In the original installation one switch would energize the red wire causing the fan to come on, while the other would energize the black turning on the light. With the new fixture, both the fan and light functionality are controlled by the remote. Because of this, the fixture only requires a single ungrounded (hot) conductor to operate. These types of fixtures are good for situations where a switch is not present/desired, but may be awkward when a switch is present. As you've noticed, the fixture only operates when the switch is in the on position. The other switch in this situation would do nothing, since nothing is connected to the wire that it energizes.

With this fixture you only require a single ungrounded (hot) conductor, because the remote routes power to either the fan, the light, or both depending on the setting. The additional wire can be capped using a twist-on wire connector, or other approved method. If you'd like to get the functionality you previously had, you'll likely have to bypass the remote on the fixture. However, this is an atypical installation, and requires special knowledge. This type of installation should only be performed by an experienced DIYer. The original wiring looked something like this... The wiring with the remote unit looks something like this... As you can see in the new wiring, the remote unit controls the current to the fan and light. Because of this, the second switched ungrounded (hot) conductor is not required.You should have put a wire nut on it so it cannot accidentally cause any problems if it is energized. The instructions didn't anticipate your specific installation.