Light surge whats the problem?

Frank0132

Just purchased a house from a previous owner and the house was only built 3 years ago. In the family room they left a ceiling fan and it works fine but the light has something wrong with it. When I turn the light on with the switch it turns on and after about 3 seconds it dims. If I turn it on and off using the pull string it just stays at the dim level it does not start off at the normal brightness. I changed the switch and put in a new switch and it still does the same thing. I have no idea what the problem is, whether it's the ceiling fan light fixture or something else. Also sometime when I turn the switch on I have to push it or move it for the light to turn on. Any help would be appreciated

joecaption

Which switch did you change the one in the fan or on the wall.

frenchelectrican

Did any chance the former owner took the remote control for ceiling fan by mistake ?

If you want to know where the remote contol unit genrally it will be found in capony cover be aware that it will be pretty crowed so becarefull when you take that capony cover off and also make sure you kill the circuit to this fan before you do that.

Merci,
Marc

__________________
The answer will be based on NEC ( National Electrical code ) or CEC ( Cananda Electrical code ) or ECF ( Electrique Code France )

Frank0132

I replaced the switch in the wall. If the fan had a remote that was taken would that make the light go bright at first and then dim?

Oso954

Do you have cfl bulbs in it ?

Frank0132

No cfl bulbs I have just the standard bulbs. It's driving me crazy trying to figure out what the problem iis

jbfan

I have seen that on some models.
With the power off, remove the canopy and see if there is a receiver in there.

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dmxtothemax

If the control board does indeed use semi conductors
to control the light then YES it can cause dimming !

Oso954

While you are working on the fan, lower the light kit and look at the wiring and parts in there. I think you may have a bad wattage limiter. It would look something like the one pictured below. I would contact the fan company and have them ship you a new one.

That assumes that you have less than 190 watts (total of all bulbs) in the fan. If you have more than 190 watts, the limiter is doing its job.

Attached Images

 

bobelectric

Good catch! They don't always tell us of the latest safety features.

Frank0132

I will check it out, thanks for everyone's help

Frank0132

FrenchElectrician and Jbfan you were right it had a black module that was for a remote I took that off and it works perfect now! Thanks for your help it was driving me crazy not being able to make it brighter. I'm not sure they left the fan and didn't leave the remote for it. Thanks again

frenchelectrican

Pas de Probem ( Not of a problem ) at all ya learn something along the way.

If you still want to keep the remote controller can you tell us what brandname it is sometime the big box store may have a replacement remote unit otherwise zing that out and get a new set.

Merci,
Marc

__________________
The answer will be based on NEC ( National Electrical code ) or CEC ( Cananda Electrical code ) or ECF ( Electrique Code France )