Breaker Off

Breaker Off / Ceiling fans

Ceiling fan wiring on one switch

Two cables in the switch box and one 2-wire cable up to the fan box.

The breaker is off: every wire is dead and safe to work on. Tap a switch in the drawing to flip it.

PanelSwitch boxFan boxSingle-pole switchCeiling fan with light14/2 NM-B14/2 NM-B BREAKER NEUTRAL BAR GROUND BARLINELOADFANLIGHT
PanelSwitch boxFan boxSingle-pole switchCeiling fan with light14/2 NM-B14/2 NM-B BREAKER NEUTRAL BAR GROUND BARLINELOADFANLIGHT

How to tell this is your box

With one switch, the fan and the light come on together; the fan's own pull chains choose speed and light.

Watch for this. Never put a fan motor on a light dimmer. Use a switch, or a control made for fans.

The job, in order

  1. Switch box: the black from the panel and the black up to the fan on the two switch screws; whites joined; grounds pigtailed.
  2. Fan box: the black from the switch joins both the fan's black and the light kit's blue lead.
  3. White to white, ground to the fan's green lead and the mounting bracket.

Every connection, box by box

Read from the same circuit the drawing is made from. A simulator checked it in every switch position: the fan and light run exactly when they should, nothing shorts, and every device is grounded.

At the panel

  • The black wire to the switch goes to the breaker.
  • The white wire to the switch goes to the neutral bar.
  • The bare copper wire to the switch goes to the ground bar.

In the switch box

  • The black wire from the panel goes to one brass screw.
  • The black wire to the fan goes to the other brass screw.
  • The white wire from the panel and the white wire to the fan join under one wire nut.
  • The bare copper wire from the panel and the bare copper wire to the fan join under one wire nut with a ground pigtail to the green ground screw.

In the fan box

  • The black wire from the switch joins short pigtails under one wire nut: one to the fan's black lead, one to the light kit's blue lead.
  • The white wire from the switch goes to the fan's white lead.
  • The bare copper wire from the switch goes to the fan's green lead.

Parts for this box

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