Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

On Sep 24, 12:02 pm, wrote:
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

How many wires are in the ceiling box, and what color are they? How
is the ceiling fan controlled primarily? (switch on the wall, pull
chain, etc.) is there a separate switch for the light?

nate

On Sep 24, 12:14 pm, N8N wrote:
On Sep 24, 12:02 pm, wrote:



Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

How many wires are in the ceiling box, and what color are they? How
is the ceiling fan controlled primarily? (switch on the wall, pull
chain, etc.) is there a separate switch for the light?

nate

Thanks for the quick reply!
There are three wires in the ceiling box. They are white, black and
green (solid strand). The ground/green wire has a stranded wire
coming off it to make ground connections a little easier to make with
the light/fan. The fan (before I removed it) was controlled by a
switch on the wall. The fan also had a pull chain. There is only one
switch on the wall for the light/fan.
To make it simple I removed the fan and light kit, replacing it with
just a ceiling light. The plan was to control this new light from the
switch on the wall.

In article .com, wrote:

There are three wires in the ceiling box. They are white, black and
green (solid strand). The ground/green wire has a stranded wire
coming off it to make ground connections a little easier to make with
the light/fan. The fan (before I removed it) was controlled by a
switch on the wall. The fan also had a pull chain. There is only one
switch on the wall for the light/fan.
To make it simple I removed the fan and light kit, replacing it with
just a ceiling light. The plan was to control this new light from the
switch on the wall.

OK.... now that you've removed the fan & light kit, and replaced it with a
simple ceiling light -- does *that* light glow dimly too, or does it behave
normally?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Sep 24, 12:50 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article .com, wrote:
There are three wires in the ceiling box. They are white, black and
green (solid strand). The ground/green wire has a stranded wire
coming off it to make ground connections a little easier to make with
the light/fan. The fan (before I removed it) was controlled by a
switch on the wall. The fan also had a pull chain. There is only one
switch on the wall for the light/fan.
To make it simple I removed the fan and light kit, replacing it with
just a ceiling light. The plan was to control this new light from the
switch on the wall.

OK.... now that you've removed the fan & light kit, and replaced it with a
simple ceiling light -- does *that* light glow dimly too, or does it behave
normally?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

It glows just as dimply.

wrote:
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!



If you are the same person who posted as " about
their fan/light problem:

I respecfully suggest that the light is overhead AND also YOU are in
over your head with respect to not understanding basic electricity and
wiring.

Which is not to say that you may be far more knowlegeable than me in
many other subjects.

Stop screwing around with it now before whatever is reducing the power
to that light bulb might get hot enough to burn your house down.

Get a knowlegeable DIYer or a pro in there before doing anything further
you might regret.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

In article om, wrote:
On Sep 24, 12:50 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
OK.... now that you've removed the fan & light kit, and replaced it with a
simple ceiling light -- does *that* light glow dimly too, or does it behave
normally?


It glows just as dimly.

By any chance, is this controlled by a pair of 3-way switches? And would one
of them be a dimmer?



--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!


My first thought is that the ceiling line is in series with something else.
That would account for the dim light and for the fan working. That may be
an indication of an improper or faulty neutral connection.

I would open up the switch and see what is going on in there. Make sure the
neutrals are connected properly. The next step would be to check where that
feed comes from and so on. Is everything else on that circuit working
properly? You could try unplugging everything on that circuit to see if the
dim light goes out all together.

I'm thinking along the same lines, but this statement has me confused. " I
next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. "




"John Grabowski" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!


My first thought is that the ceiling line is in series with something
else.
That would account for the dim light and for the fan working. That may be
an indication of an improper or faulty neutral connection.

I would open up the switch and see what is going on in there. Make sure
the
neutrals are connected properly. The next step would be to check where
that
feed comes from and so on. Is everything else on that circuit working
properly? You could try unplugging everything on that circuit to see if
the
dim light goes out all together.

What I meant by that statement is that I replaced my ceiling fan with
a ceiling light.
Next, I proceeded to connect the ceiling light as follows.
1) I connected the black wire of the light fixture to the black source
wire coming from the ceiling; and,
2) I connected the white wire of the light fixture to the white source
wire coming from the ceiling; and,
3) I connected the bare ground wire from the light fixture with the
green ground wire from the source coming from the ceiling to the
ceiling lamp with the included green screw.

Any thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks.


On Sep 25, 6:53 am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:
I'm thinking along the same lines, but this statement has me confused. " I
next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. "

"John Grabowski" wrote in message

...



wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

My first thought is that the ceiling line is in series with something
else.
That would account for the dim light and for the fan working. That may be
an indication of an improper or faulty neutral connection.

I would open up the switch and see what is going on in there. Make sure
the
neutrals are connected properly. The next step would be to check where
that
feed comes from and so on. Is everything else on that circuit working
properly? You could try unplugging everything on that circuit to see if
the
dim light goes out all together.

On Sep 24, 2:11 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article om, wrote:
On Sep 24, 12:50 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
OK.... now that you've removed the fan & light kit, and replaced it with a
simple ceiling light -- does *that* light glow dimly too, or does it behave
normally?

It glows just as dimly.

By any chance, is this controlled by a pair of 3-way switches? And would one
of them be a dimmer?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

All switches on the wall seem to be two-way. None are dimmers.

On Sep 24, 1:47 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:
wrote:
Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

If you are the same person who posted as " about
their fan/light problem:

I respecfully suggest that the light is overhead AND also YOU are in
over your head with respect to not understanding basic electricity and
wiring.

Which is not to say that you may be far more knowlegeable than me in
many other subjects.

Stop screwing around with it now before whatever is reducing the power
to that light bulb might get hot enough to burn your house down.

Get a knowlegeable DIYer or a pro in there before doing anything further
you might regret.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Although I believe I scanned the post you are referring to while
searching for answers to my question on the net, I am not the same
person. This is the first time I have ever posted a home improvement
question on the net. My issue seemed different from the other poster
you are referring to, which is why I proceeded create my own post.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

On Sep 24, 6:13 pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:
wrote in message

ups.com...



Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

My first thought is that the ceiling line is in series with something else.
That would account for the dim light and for the fan working. That may be
an indication of an improper or faulty neutral connection.

I would open up the switch and see what is going on in there. Make sure the
neutrals are connected properly. The next step would be to check where that
feed comes from and so on. Is everything else on that circuit working
properly? You could try unplugging everything on that circuit to see if the
dim light goes out all together.


Thanks, I will check the neutrals.
I think first I will measure the voltage source coming from the
ceiling which powers the ceiling lamp and then move to the switch if I
don't measure 110V.

Thanks again for the advice!

According to :
What I meant by that statement is that I replaced my ceiling fan with
a ceiling light.
Next, I proceeded to connect the ceiling light as follows.
1) I connected the black wire of the light fixture to the black source
wire coming from the ceiling; and,
2) I connected the white wire of the light fixture to the white source
wire coming from the ceiling; and,
3) I connected the bare ground wire from the light fixture with the
green ground wire from the source coming from the ceiling to the
ceiling lamp with the included green screw.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

If you're only getting a dim light from this, either the circuit
is miswired and thus the color codes are lying to you, or,
one of the connections in the circuit or the switch[es?] has gone bad.

I _have_ seen people use the black for unswitched hot, the white
for switched hot, and the ground for neutral.

You're going to need to open up the switch[es?] and see what's
connected to what, and check for char marks etc.

Be careful, because a dim light may be indicative of a bad connection
overheating.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

In article .com, wrote:
On Sep 24, 2:11 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article om,
wrote:
On Sep 24, 12:50 pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
OK.... now that you've removed the fan & light kit, and replaced it with a
simple ceiling light -- does *that* light glow dimly too, or does it behave
normally?

It glows just as dimly.

By any chance, is this controlled by a pair of 3-way switches? And would one
of them be a dimmer?


All switches on the wall seem to be two-way. None are dimmers.

In that case, I'm sorry to tell you that you have a substantial problem
somewhere, likely one of the following:
- high-resistance connection either in the feed, or the neutral (THIS IS AN
IMMINENT FIRE HAZARD)
- fixture is wired in series with another light fixture or a receptacle
- circuit is miswired

Probably time to call a pro.


--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:02:54 +0000, rutgert wrote:

Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!



If I were to guess, there is a dimmer switch controlling the light. If
not on the wall, then there is one in the light fixture itself.

You may also check the wires to make certain you have connected the load
and neutral wires correctly to the light fixture.

wrote:
On Sep 24, 1:47 pm, Jeff Wisnia wrote:

wrote:

Hi,

I recently added a ceiling light kit to an old ceiling fan. This
included having to connect the blue wire which should have been
connected to the hot source. However, although the fan still worked
the light was very dim. Thinking that there was a slim chance there
was a power issue preventing the light to shine properly I removed the
newly installed light kit and the old ceiling fan. I next replaced it
with a simple ceiling light. I proceeded to connect the black to
black, the white to white, and the neutral as directed in the
instructions. However, the result was the same. The light shines very
dimly, just enough to barely have the light filament glow.
Occassionally, the light does not even seem to come on. Although
the ceiling light suggests 75W bulbs, I have also tried 60W and 40W
bulbs with the same outcome. If the power source was sufficient to
run a ceiling fan motor it seems it should be enough to light a 40W
bulb.
What am I overlooking? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you in advance!

If you are the same person who posted as " about
their fan/light problem:

I respecfully suggest that the light is overhead AND also YOU are in
over your head with respect to not understanding basic electricity and
wiring.

Which is not to say that you may be far more knowlegeable than me in
many other subjects.

Stop screwing around with it now before whatever is reducing the power
to that light bulb might get hot enough to burn your house down.

Get a knowlegeable DIYer or a pro in there before doing anything further
you might regret.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.


Although I believe I scanned the post you are referring to while
searching for answers to my question on the net, I am not the same
person. This is the first time I have ever posted a home improvement
question on the net. My issue seemed different from the other poster
you are referring to, which is why I proceeded create my own post.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.


Your post indicates that the dim light bulb sometimes doesn't even come
on, so try this:

Get the bulb glowing and then whack the wall adjacent to the switch (or
switches) with your clenched fist. See if shaking things that way makes
the bulb glow brighter or go out.

If it does, you've located a "loose disconnection" at or in the switch,
which you should be able to correct fairly easily.

"Back stabbed" wiring connections on switches are known for their
proclivity to develop poor connections. Most everyone on this newsgroup
will say not to use them but make connections to the terminal screws
instead. If that's what's being used, change over to using the terminal
screws.

Good luck,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.