Ceiling fan not working

[Teewee]

Ceiling fan is 18 years old but would still like to repair if possible. Remote will not turn on lights or fan, but the red light on the remote lights up every time I push a button. The fan will try to come on and sometimes does if I flick the wall switch real fast. Sometimes the lights will flicker when I do this, but they never come on. Is this a remote control problem or something wrong with the unit? Thanks...it is a Harbor Breeze

 

[John Gayewski]

Sounds like it could be a loose connection. You have poke around and start seeing what gets power where. I'd check the wire nuts first. Then I'd get a meter out and start checking what has 120 going to it. If you have 120 on one side of the switch but not the other (when the switch is on) then it's the switch. If you have power going out of the switch but not in the fan then it's the remote or remote receiver.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

How smooth and easy is it to manually rotate the fan blades? The bearings don't last forever. The control board could be toast as could be the motor itself, and finding a replacement for one that old may not happen unless you're lucky. It's possible the remote is bad. Is there a way to turn the fan on without the remote?

 

[Teewee]

Sounds like it could be a loose connection. You have poke around and start seeing what gets power where. I'd check the wire nuts first. Then I'd get a meter out and start checking what has 120 going to it. If you have 120 on one side of the switch but not the other (when the switch is on) then it's the switch. If you have power going out of the switch but not in the fan then it's the remote or remote receiver.

You mean to check power on the wall switch? When you say wire nuts, your talking about inside the fan itself? Sorry, not much electrical experience

 

[Teewee]

How smooth and easy is it to manually rotate the fan blades? The bearings don't last forever. The control board could be toast as could be the motor itself, and finding a replacement for one that old may not happen unless you're lucky. It's possible the remote is bad. Is there a way to turn the fan on without the remote?

If I flip the wall switch real fast the fan tries to come on and sometimes it will eventually stay on. It does turn freely. No, the remote dosent work. The battery is good. The lights dont work at all but will sometimes flicker dimly when I flip the wall switch as previously mentioned

 

[WorthFlorida]

All ceiling fans have a run capacitor, usually three leads for each fan speed. Since it attempts to turn by flipping the switch, it's my first reason why it doesn't run. If it's an after market remote, remove it. It could be the cause. If the wall switch is a variable speed control, remove it. You want to end up with the fan and power to the fan to eliminate all the other stuff.
The capacitor sits inside the housing where a fan light would connect to. The wires are quite jamb in there and the connectors are factory crimped. You'll need to cut the wires and get the smallest wire nuts you can buy. They are gray or blue in color.

https://www.eceilingfans.com/capacitors_-_ceiling_fans.html

They are plenty of you tubes on how to change a ceiling fan capacitor.

 

[Reach4]

Replacing the fan would be simpler. I spent a lot of time trying to fix a ceiling fan, and just replaced it with a low priced unit in the end. Getting somebody to replace that should be easy, if you don't care to do it yourself.

Was the remote that helpful when the fan was working? A pull-cord-controlled fan may be just as functional for you in practice.