Help with ceiling fan and new light/fan control

[oxmanwi]

I'm a little lost, I'm trying to install a new Lutron light/fan dimmer for single pole. I know where the Light and Fan wires get connected, but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out witch is the hot and switch wire from the ceiling.

My ceiling has two black wires and two white wires coming from the ceiling and the light switch in the wall has one black and one white.

My ceiling fan has three wires: A White (Common), Green (Light) and Black (Fan) coming from it.

On the control box that gets wired in the fan and ceiling has four wires: White (Neutral). Red (Light), Black (Switched live wire from the wall) and Yellow (Fan)

Any ideas?

 

[Bunk]

I'm not an Electrician by any means, but just went through the installation of several ceiling fans in my house.
Sounds to me like whatever fixture was up there before was wired in series with another light somewhere. One of the blacks (and whites) goes back to the switch, the other black (and the other white) goes on to the next fixture down the line.
I'd just use a voltage tester to figure out which is hot at the ceiling, that is the one that goes back to your switch.
I'm sure you'll plenty of advice from people that are far more qualified than me.

 

[Mustang51js]

It's not going to work since you have no neutral in your switch box, your only options are to run a new wire or get a remote kit that doesn't need a neutral. What you have is the feed in the ceiling box and they used a 2 wire down to the switch,feed down on the white and when you turn on switch it feeds back up the black to the light,if you look in the ceiling box you should have two wires twisted together,that is the feed and the two left over wires are the neutral and the switch leg. You need a testor to figure out which one is the neutral if they twisted the two blacks together. If you have a black and white twisted together in the ceiling then the black of those two is the feed in and the white by itself is the neutral. If you want to use what you have get a wireless remote kit or look into the ones that don't use a neutral for the switch.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

What has been done is a circuit was run directly to the ceiling box, meaning a hot and a neutral. Then from the switch box, a section of romex was run down to the switch. One of the wires is the hot going down to the switch, and the other wire is the switched hot coming back from the switch.

Are two of the wires in the ceiling box wire nutted together? Should be a black (the circuit hot) and (should be) a white going to the switch. People don't always follow code and it could be two blacks wire nutted together instead.

Indeed, current code requires that a neutral be provided at every switch box for electronic switches and controllers to operate from. 99% of the houses in the US don't have this, as it only recently became a code requirement.

Get a wireless, remote control fan controller. The control box installs at the fan mounting and gets it neutral there, along with the fan.

Charles

 

[justsam]

What was installed there before? A single switch, or fan light combination?

As has been discussed it sounds like only a switch leg was run down to the switch location.

Use a remote has been suggested, or just use the switch for the light and use a pull chain for the fan if it has one.

 

[KANSASBOY]

 

[nehog]

...
My ceiling fan has three wires: A White (Common), Green (Light) and Black (Fan) coming from it.
...?

Green = ground, always, always, always!