# Odd ceiling fan problem



## injvstice (Oct 30, 2010)

I've had an on-off problems with two of my ceiling fans (different makers, one hunter and one minka). Wired differently too, the minka one is controlled by a wall remote control, and the hunter one by two wired wall switches).

Every now and then, for no reason, the fan will stop working. It may stop working for a day, a week, whatever.. then start working again for a month or even a year. When this happens, the light kit on both fans still works (on the minka, the light kit and fan are on the same line, separated in the fan by the remote control receiver. On the hunter, it's two different wires going into the fan.).

It stumps me.. I'll just turn the fan on one day, it will spin a little bit, then stop. Nothing gets it to work. I can hear a small hum in its motor, like it's getting power, but it won't spin. Then a week later I may accidentally turn it on again and it will run. Two and three years ago I had repeated on/off problems with both fans. Last year, both worked perfectly the entire year. This year one of them has started acting up again.

Any hints would be appreciated.


----------



## kbsparky (Sep 11, 2008)

Check the reversing switch.


----------



## injvstice (Oct 30, 2010)

I wish it was that easy.  It does not seem to be affected by the reverse switch, I flipped it and jiggled it (actually, the Minka does not have any switches or pull cords -- it's electronically controlled from the remote -- but the Hunter does).

Last night after I wrote the question, I turned the hunter back on and it started to move and stopped again. It never got to full speed. This morning it worked fine. Then in the afternoon i turned it on again, it worked for about 20 minutes then stopped.

When I turn it at the top speed, i feel the motor vibrating, but it doesn't start spinning. Does this mean anything?

This is very similar to two years ago when I had the problem and almost replaced it, then it decided to work for an entire year with no problems.

If it matters, this fan is about 4-5 years old, it's a Hunter 20527 model.


----------



## dmxtothemax (Oct 26, 2010)

Have you checked the motor control board for any obvious things
like loose wire, loose components, burnt components ???
otherwise could be faulty electronics or even faulty motor.
Might be easier and cheaper to just replace it !


----------



## parteeman (Apr 21, 2012)

is anything else acting strange in the house when it happens? either way u could have a prob in the neutral somehow, mayb loose joints in canopy? not sure y itd only b in two fans and nothin else. they might share the neutral, if so ive had issues with the receivers in the canopy getting interference. maybe its the switches simply goin bad. it may take a minute to find the problem but it could only b so many things. can u verify 120v in fan canopy? with fan switch off take the joints apart and turn on switch, verify 120 present, if so turn off switch and tie fan leads back (no wirenuts just spiral it on) turn switch on and verify 120 still present under load. if it is id say try new fan and cut ur losses. if it dips anywhere less than 105 uve got a neut prob.


----------



## Jeeps (Apr 12, 2012)

injvstice said:


> I've had an on-off problems with two of my ceiling fans (different makers, one hunter and one minka). Wired differently too, the minka one is controlled by a wall remote control, and the hunter one by two wired wall switches).
> 
> Every now and then, for no reason, the fan will stop working. It may stop working for a day, a week, whatever.. then start working again for a month or even a year. When this happens, the light kit on both fans still works (on the minka, the light kit and fan are on the same line, separated in the fan by the remote control receiver. On the hunter, it's two different wires going into the fan.).
> 
> ...


 
I would remove these controllers and just install a single pole toggle switch for temporary testing purposes. If the fans work fine then, its a controller issue. If not, its fan motor/wiring.


----------



## injvstice (Oct 30, 2010)

(I'm adding this update since for some reason I started getting email updates to this post, someone asking if I ever solved this problem, but I don't see the question here, may have been deleted).

This is a very old post, so I thought i'd just add a (somewhat useless) update. As you may notice, it was from 2012. Note that the Hunter was hard wired, and therefore there was no remote control feature. And they are on separate circuits.

Anyway, 2012 was over, and 2013 came, and since then all fans have been working flawlessly, with no changes to the fan or to the electrical system. Simply next year, flick them on, and all worked perfectly to now (2021). Good thing I procrastinated on replacing them!


I'd have blamed it on some weird interference, but the Hunter was wired, with no RC control. Either way, I have no explanation. Note that I have two other minka fans with similar controllers in the house, and those never experienced issues (also on separate circuits). I don't know if there was some sort of voltage drop that affected only some circuits, and how it could've fixed itself. Right now, I think that 2012 was just cursed.

Other note -- I had a Minka fan at my inlaws, which was also behaving weirdly. For example, it would not go past first speed via remote control, and may or may not respond to button presses. That one I fixed by replacing the "receiver" which is in the base of the fan. It may be green or black and look like this. It would be tucked inside the base trim.









I find in general, Minka fans are build really well, but this module is a weak point.


----------

