only 2 of 4 lights work on ceiling fan

[tc1965]

Hello,

I'm a brand new user so forgive me if this has already been addressed recently. I moved into a home built in 1999 with a ceiling fan in the living room. It has a light fixture with 4 lights, and only 2 of the 4 work--2 that are directly across from each other in the fixture. I changed bulbs, pulled up the brass connection at the bottom of the socket (with breaker off) and still have the same problem. The entire ceiling fan/light is connected to a 2-way switch, and the only switch on the unit itself is the chain to control the spead of the fan (plus the reverse direction switch). That means that to operate the fan at all, I have to be willing to have the lights on (less than perfect, but I'll live with it for now). Is there an obvious solution to only half the lights working? I've inspected the wiring from the light housing to the fan unit. The lights have two wires (white and black); the black wire from the light fixture is joined to the blue wire in the fan, and the white wire from the light fixture is joined to the white wire in the fan. I have not inspected the wiring from the entire ceiling fan/light fixture to the ceiling wiring box and was hoping there is an easy solution to this problem before I have to do this. Any help, advice, or sympathy/condolences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. --Tim

[trs4594]

A few thoughts...

You say there is only one switch on the unit and it controls the fan speed, plus a reverse switch? It is odd there is no light switch. And only two of the 4 lights come on? Given you have checked the bulbs, here is what I would do...

Inspect the unit again carefully for the light switch. It should have one. Even if it does or doesn't, it sounds like there is some loose wires in the light housing compartment of the unit. The white and black wires from each light should be grouped together and wire-nutted, but may have come loose. You could turn off the breaker and open this compartment and look.

Also, there are available remote control units that can be installed in your paddle fan to control the lights and fan separately. Most also offer a dimmer for the lights. Beyond all of this, if you feel this unit isn't worthy new paddle fans are usually reasonable to replace.

Good luck

[tc1965]

Thanks. I guess I wasn't really that clear regarding the switch on the unit. Really there are two switches: one is the chain to control the fan speed. The other is to reverse the direction of the fan. Other than those, there are no others to control the lights (even on my second inspection prompted by your reply). Thanks for your help.

[tc1965]

I figured this out a while back, but I wanted to close the loop. The chain to the light switch had been yanked completely out so there was just a whole where the chain should be and the two lights stuck in the on position. I replaced the light chain-switch mechanism in the fan and I'm pleased to report the problem is fixed.