Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Problem with dimmer switch

Hello, I have a problem with the dimmer in the family room. Here is how things used to work.

At the top of the stairs is a 3 way toggle switch. If this switch is 'on' then the downstairs ceiling fan with lights is on and a second ceiling light is also on. While this switch is 'on' the downstairs dimmer does not work. However if the upstairs switch is 'off' then the downstairs dimmer can control the brightness of the ceiling fan light, ceiling light, and give power to the ceiling fan.

I just bought this house a few months ago and I asked about the fan being on a dimmer. The former owner said that the fan is either 'off' or 'on'. When the dimmer is turned on power goes to the fan but the dimmer only controls the lights. Is this correct?

A month ago the dimmer switch stopped working completely but the upstairs switch still works as normal.

Is it a bad dimmer switch? I took the dimmer out and checked the connections and all seemed well. In the dimmer box all the grounds are wired together, the 3 white wires are wired together, the dimmer has 2 black wires - 1 is connected to 2 black wires and the other is connected to 1 red wire.

Thanks,
Mike

The way it used to work is, in a word, bizarre. I can't help but this that this is a mistake, not intentional.

An ordinary lighting dimmer should never be used to control the speed of a fan. Ordinary dimmers are for lighting only, never to control a motor.

Dimmer switches are easy to fry. So it's not surprising that yours may have failed.

If you liked the (very bizarre) way it used to work, and would like to restore it, then you probably need a new single-pole (not 3-way) dimmer. Just connect it up like the old one.

Do you have other things in your house that appear to have been done by a seat-of-the-pants handyman?

John, thanks for the response. I should point out that the speed of the fan wasn't controlled by the dimmer. The pull chain controlled the speed but when the dimmer was turned 'on' supposedly full power went to the fan and then the lights could be dimmed. It seemed bizarre but it also seemed to work too. But if you are saying that isn't the way it was REALLy working then I don't want to put another dimmer switch there. This guy did almost all the work around the house and I have MANY other bizarre stories too.

One question, can a 3 way switch be replaced with a Hunter sliding fan\light controller or does it require different wiring?

Thanks,
Mike

No it cannot if you want it to work correctly (which doesn't seem to be a requirement in your house).

OK, I just installed a single pole switch and the results are not what I was expecting. The switch doesn't do anything. Before if the switch at the top of the stairs was 'On' then the lights were simply 'on'. If that switch was 'off' and the dimmer at the bottom was 'on' then the lights could be dimmed. The dimmer was wired to 2 black wires on 1 side and a single red wire on the other.

NOW, I wired the new switch to the 2 black wires on 1 side and the red on the other and connected the ground. This new switch doesn't have any power unless the upstairs switch in 'on'. However my continuity tester shows no current across the switch and if I check the continuity between the black wires and the red there isn't any. However there is current if test between the black wires and the ground and between the red wire and ground.

Why won't this switch work? Perhaps the dimmer didn't burn up and instead there is a wiring problem someone.

Thanks,
Mike

I wired the new switch to the 2 black wires on 1 side and the red on the other and connected the groundProvide more details of how you did this. How many screws does the new switch have. How exactly did you put the two black wires on one side?

The new switch has 2 screws plus a ground. The dimmer was wired to 2 black wires plus the dimmer wire on 1 side using a wire nut. The dimmer was wired to 1 red wire and the other dimmer wire again using a wire nut. The dimmer had 2 'built in' wires. I wired the switch the same way using 2 14ga wires connected to the switch and then wire nuts connecting the wires as before.

Okay, I'm lost. It sounds to me like you did it right.

The switch at the top of the stairs works normally. In that box the 2 neutral wires are hooked together and the grounds are tied together. There is 1 red wire on the left and 2 black wires on the right. If I have a wiring problem would you expect that switch to still work correctly? I hope I don't have a safety issue.

Thanks,
Mike