Its Nice to be Able to Operate a Ceiling Fan from a Wall Switch
Usually a fan comes from the manufacturer with an installed pull switch; but, it is often more handy to turn it on or off with a wall switch as you enter or leave the room.
The important thing to remember when installing any type of switch is that it needs to be positioned to stop or start the flow of electricity to the device that you want to turn off and on.
Instructions
Installing the Switch Box
1. The first step is determine where you want to put the switch. The new switch can be mounted next to an existing switch or it can be placed in an area by itself.
2. If you are going to install the new switch next to an existing one, shut off the power and take the wall plate off the existing switch by removing the screws. Remove the two screws holding the switch to the box and disconnect the wires from the switch. Straighten the bare ends of each wire with electrician pliers and wrap each wire separately with electrical tape. Loosen the screw on the wire clamp in the switch box.
3. The switch box will be fastened to the wall with either small nails or sheet-rock clamps. If sheet-rock clamps were used, straighten the fingers with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. If nails were used, remove them carefully to avoid damaging the wall.
Pull the box from the wall and the wire out of box, being careful not to pull off the tape or damage the wire covering.
4. Take a double-ganged switch box and put its face over the existing hole. Using a dark pencil, draw around the portion of the box that is not covering the hole.
5. Drill a 1/4-inch to 5/8-inch hole inside the two areas where the pencil lines intersect. Using a keyhole or reciprocating saw, cut out the remainder of the area where the double-ganged switch box will fit.
Use the same procedure for cutting a hole for a single-ganged switch box that will be placed in an area by itself.
Installing the Wiring
6. The wiring steps will be the same regardless of where the switch will be placed. Unfasten the cover on the fan that sits next to the ceiling. This can be done without having to dismantle or remove the fan. Slide the cover down the stem and let it rest on the top of the fan. Look for an area in the junction box, above the fan, where a new wire might be brought in. If the wire can be brought through a hole that has an existing wire, loosen the wire clamp.
7. Go into the attic leaving a helper in the room where you are working. Ask your helper to tap on the wall where the new switch is to be installed. Locate the area above the tapping and drill a 1-inch hole through the center of the cap plate.
If you are placing the new switch by an existing one, a wire should be running through the cap plate where you are to drill. Place the new hole near the existing wire but leave enough space between the two holes to avoid drilling into the wire.
8. Feed 12-2 non-metallic sheathed cable through the hole slapping it against the inside surfaces of the wall. Ask your helper to listen for the cable and attempt to grab it with the hook on a straighten coat-hanger. Once the helper hooks the wire, he pulls the end through the freshly cut hole.
9. Uncoil more cable as you move across the attic toward the fan. Your helper may have to guide you by tapping on the ceiling near the fan.
10. When you reach the fan, estimate how much cable will be needed to make connections in the junction box and cut what you need from the roll. Feed the end of the cut wire into the junction box carefully not to damage any of the wiring. If you are using a new entry hole in the junction box, you will have to remove a knockout.
Making the Connections
11. Go back downstairs, remove any required knockouts and loosen the necessary wire clamp in the switch box. Pull the wire into the box and tighten the wire clamps. Fasten the new switch box to the wall with either nails or sheet-rock clamps depending upon the wall's composition.
12. Strip approximately 2 inches to 3 inches of covering from the end of the newly installed cable using a wire stripper and a sharp knife. Cut about 1/2 to 3/4 inches of covering from each wire with a sharp knife or stripper. Connect each wire of the cable to opposite sides of a single-pole switch. It does not matter which wire goes where; but the two wires connected to a switch must come from the same cable.
13. Fasten the switch or switches to the switch box and install the switch plate. If the new switch was placed next to an existing switch, a double switch plate will have to be used,
14. Move over to the fan and tighten any loosened wire clamps in the junction box. Peel the newly installed cable and wires as previously described.
15. Look for the black wire that comes into the junction box from the attic and is connected to the black wire on the fan. Disconnect the incoming black wire from the fan and connect it to the black wire running to the newly installed wall switch. Connect the white wire from the switch to the black wire on the fan.
16. Replace the cover over the junction box and turn the power back on. Turn the fan on at the wall switch.
Tags: black wire, each wire, existing switch, existing wire, newly installed, , sheet-rock clamps