Rebuild a ceiling fan?

[PeterN]

My wife's favorite ceiling fan stopped turning on and I'm wondering if it is possible to repair. There is power to the fan but no rotation. I did get it to work once by spinning the blades and then turning on the power but that doesn't work anymore. Possibly a starter? It's 30 years old so it isn't a piece of junk like you buy now. I've gotten my money's worth out of it but I don't mind fixing things if it is possible.

 

[BrandonV]

Could be a lot of things. Ceiling fans are pretty easy to tear down and replace. Could be something as mundane as the starting capacitor.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Check for a thermal fuse on or near the motor coils………. This "fuse" will open the circuit on a high temperature.

BTW! These thermal fuses are usually silver and are about 3/8” long.

 

[nadogail]

With enough time and money, almost everything is repairable

 

[wyliesdiesels]

need more info... make model etc

 

[The Cobbler]

I'd be looking at the

work once by spinning the blades and then turning on the power

start cap for starters. bad bearings, a bad armature or field windings , thermal fuse , lots of possibles

 

[mm08822]

If it remains a keeper, replace the bearings while it is apart.

 

[walta]

Minor point generally older ceiling fan motors are permanent split capacitor PSC.

As such no starter or centrifugal switch and the cap would be called a run cap as opposed to a start cap.

If someone happened to leave to power applied to the motor and the motor fails to start turning for any reason the winding would get hotter than normal and would likely open a thermal protection in the motor. The point being you likely have 2 problems to repair at this point. Most likely a bad cap and open thermal fuse.

Walta

 

[captaindiode]

I had a fan fail one time. It had an open start winding. It was a Hunter and the style was no longer available. I called Hunter, it had a warranty. First I had to try some parts they sent, then they offered a new fan. I asked what motor the fan I had used, and they were able to send a different model fan as a replacement that used the motor. I switched the motor to my fan and the problem was solved. Even if there is no warranty, you should be able to buy a fan with the same guts and switch the motor.

 

[Innovate1]

need more info... make model etc

This and things like does the shaft turn freely? Usually they get noisy as the bearings go bad before they stop spinning entirely so bad bearings is less likely IMO. Things like bearings are easy to replace if you have a press and I have done it before on a ceiling fan I wanted to keep. Just have to apply the pressure properly so as to not damage the bearing during install.

With the info given I think what Walta said is most likely.

Getting an exact replacement fan motor is unlikely on that old of fan. The designs have likely changed or the company may be out of business. If you really want to keep it you might find a similar one used for sale and be able to mix the parts. If it's a popular brand or collectable you might find a forum dedicated to them where you could find more targeted help. I know there are some groups that deal with really, really old desktop fans.

 

[Norcal]

A Hunter, or Casablanca, fan might be worth attempting to repair, all the other cheap quality Asian fans are best sent off as scrap.

 

[tipsy]

have you tested the switch? Is it a pull chain switch on the fan? I've had those go bad many times. Usually an easy replacement with the same switch from the local hardware store.

 

[PeterN]

Ended up being a bad neutral connection in a disconnect plug of the wiring harness near the light fixture connection. I wired around the connector and I'm back in business.