[jwalke02]

Hi all,

I'm brand new to the forum and come with a problem. I paid an electrician to install my new Minka fan using two wall switches, light dimmer and fan speed control. What i didn't realize was Minka fans are designed to be used with remote/receiver. The electrician disconnected the receiver and hardwired into the wall switches - for a while it was fine.

Recently something happened (circuit tripped or other) and my fan changed direction (summer/winter). The catch - these fans ONLY have the reverse switch using the remote/receive, there is no physical switch on the unit. Well, first time i reconnected the receiver, reversed the fan direction, and reconnected the wall switches. Second time, same thing. I can't keep living like this.

My question - Can i keep the light switch on the wall in use, while hooking up the fan control to the remote? We want our children to be able to enter the room and flip a wall switch for the light, yet maintain full control of the fan and direction using the remote.

Does this make sense? My first thought is if the light switch/fan wire stay in place, then i just need to get power to the receiver and hook up the fan wires. I am asking for your help understanding how power to the receiver would tie in with power to the light, and if there is something else that must be done with the neutral? With the two hardwired switches both light and fan had power independently and operated independently and that is still my goal.

thank you very much in advance. I can't fault the electrician as he followed my advice, but i also came to learn the fan was ONLY designed to be used with the remote. So i find myself in a jam and hoping there is a solution for us that works. Best - Joe

 

[dmxtothemax]

If the internal receiver board
Has caused the fan to change
direction ? Then it is not completly
Out of circuit. it needs to be !

 

[jwalke02]

well... that's the craziest thing... the internal circuit board is still alive and well. The electrician cut the wires from the receiver and hooked up the fan circuit board direct to the wall controls. And then somehow, for some reason, one day the fan was going in the opposite direction. Third time this has happened (2 different fans in different rooms).

I searched and searched online and found some comment where it was suggested that a power surge or breaker trip or a fluke "reverse" current (perhaps cause my house is older and is certainly wired inefficiently top to bottom) could actually cause the reverse feature in the fan circuit board to switch on its own. I know, sounds crazy. But i can promise you this is the 4th time that i have had a fan spinning in one direction, and now it's going the other. Minka offers no support because they only want you to use the receiver with remote. And they say that is the ONLY way this fan will respond to a change in direction.

My question is can i keep the light portion of the fan hard wired to my existing wall switch, and then set up the receive to work just the remote (speaking to the circuit in the fan)? I assume yes, so curious if anyone is familiar with the Minka Concept II fan and exactly how i should do it?

thanks!

 

[jwalke02]

Allow me to clarify. I "assume" the circuit board internally is working and that the way it is wired now is from the wall switches, bypassing the receiver, and into this circuit board to control the light and fan individually based on their respective wires. (these were originally into the receiver).

I can confirm the receiver is not enabled at all because it's in a box in my attic.

Anyone know how i could wire this thing, half to the wall, half to the receiver? Sorry if this is annoying.. but i have 4 of these fans and i don't want to fully commit to the remote only (or the "wall remote" Minka offers) but also can't live with hardwired wall switches and the fans randomly changing direction (which is an issue all to itself and one not covered by the company because i voided warranty hard wiring them). Ugh.

 

[dmxtothemax]

For sure !
The fans light
Can be rewire
To be bypassing
The board completly
But without seeing a picture
Or knowing wiring colors
I cannot be sure !

 

[jwalke02]

Thanks dmxtothemax. It was suggested by a friend offline i can perhaps wire the receiver back into the fan to have the remote AND wall switch control the fan, and the light just bypass the receiver and keep the wall controling the light. What do you think? This would be ideal as we keep our wall controls (kids can use) and i retain full functionality using the remote (ability to reverse). If this was possible, could i just keep the wall switches and have the remote working along with both?

(i would be curious if yes, why then my electrician cut out the receiver altogether thus voiding the warranty on the fan and leaving me in this position???)

Here is the model and a link to the manual. Page 4 is electrical specifically showing the exact receiver housed in the fan. Recall this is now completely removed with the fan hardwired using standard fan/light 14/3 wire.

Minka-Aire F518-WH 44-inch Concept II Flush Mount Ceiling Fan

http://www.minkagroup.net/sites/default/files/product_manuals/F518%2C%20F519-Spanish.pdf

i really appreciate your time and help! the more specific the better please! Joe

 

[Just1han85]

I also have Minka Aire Concept II and I've bypassed my receiver and now have the fan and light controlled by two separate switches. This works but there's one problem... the fan speed won't go beyond the fans lowest setting. I've tried a couple of different switches at the wall including a standard on/off switch. I can't figure out why it won't go beyond the lowest speed. There is a capacitor that I'm wiring things through on the fan and I suspect that has something to do with it. I've attached some pictures on how I have it setup now. BTW - The blue wire in the picture is my RED wire, just didn't have an actual RED wire.

 

[Just1han85]

Some extra pic. Wire colors coming out of the fan: (White,black,gray,pink,red,yellow).