Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] First use for new multimeter

From: Pat Horne <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:09:00 -0500

Scott,

The voltage out of the receiver should be 120V AC. You can check it at 
that point.

Another way to test it is to bypass the receiver and connect the ballast 
directly to power.

As for the output of the ballast, I wouldn't mess with it. The voltage 
before the fluorescent lights is several thousand volts. This is much 
higher than the top range on your meter. Since you have already tried 
changing the lamp, I suspect that if the voltage coming out of the 
receiver is working that you have a bad ballast.

Do you have another fixture that uses the same size bulb? If so, try 
swapping lamps.

Peace,
Pat

Thusly spake Scott
> Not its first intended use, but it'll hopefully work for this too:
>
> My living room has a Home Depot/Hampton Bay ceiling fan. The fan has a 
> wireless remote that operates the fan and the integrated light. The 
> light has stopped working.
>
> I first thought it was the fluorescent bulb (a 9" circline), so I 
> bought a new one. No fix.
>
> I also have a Hunter-brand fan that did this same thing, it turned out 
> to be the wireless control module in the fan itself that quit working 
> (which I cunningly diagnosed by buying a new control module and 
> installing it).
>
> So, I bought a new control module for the Hampton Bay fan.  Of course 
> it's not that easy--on the Hunter fan, the receiver is an add-on that 
> lives under the fan's trim 'bustle' that covers the ball that mounts 
> the fan to the ceiling box. On the Hampton Bay, it's actually buried 
> in the motor housing and if it's replaceable at all, it's going to 
> require complete disassembly of the fan.
>
> So I thought...I've got this new (cheap H-F) multimeter I bought to 
> use for some HVAC diagnostics, I'll bet I can see if there's 
> electricity coming out of the fan to the bulb, and that will at least 
> tell me before I take apart the fan if it is in fact the receiver 
> unit. It might be...something else, after all (though probably not). 
> Maybe I just have (several) bad bulbs. Or maybe the thing I'll be 
> calling the ballast is bad.
>
> So anyone want to help me electrocute myself? I can get two different 
> wire sets to diagnose--a pair (one black, one white) coming out of the 
> fan housing and going into a circular thing that lives in the center 
> of the circline bulb. Ah--I just read the instructions on the 
> bulb--that's the ballast. I assume the power to the ballast is coming 
> directly from the receiver/controller unit. If there's power there, I 
> can assume the receiver is doing its job. Then from the ballast is a 
> single plug that has four holes that plug onto the four prongs on the 
> bulb. If there's power there, I just managed to buy several bad bulbs, 
> or more likely, I have a intermittent issue which means I'll be just 
> replacing the fan (feel free to tell me if I'm wrong here).
>
> What i don't know is what kind and amount of voltage I'm looking for 
> on my meter. A/C or D/C? How much should I want to see?
>
> I'm ruling out a bad wiring connection from the house wiring to the 
> unit because the fan and the lights use the same power source from the 
> house, and the fan works just fine. This really is the same set of 
> symptoms that was cured by a new receiver unit on the other one, but 
> man, that thing is sealed up tight.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Scott
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>

Pat Horne, Owner, Horne Systems (512) 797-7501 Voice & Text 5026 FM 2001 
[email-masked] Lockhart, TX 78644-4443 www.hornesystemstx.com -- 
We support Habitat for Humanity - a hand UP, not a hand OUT --
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---

From: Brian Kemp <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:58:06 -0700

Scott - Easy thing first.  Do you also have a pull chain that controls 
the light?  Try that switch too.  Someone might have switched it off 
that way instead of the remote.  I expect this is not the case with 
anyone on this list, but the easy stuff sometimes works.

The fans I've worked with typically have three power connections. The 
white is neutral, the black is the fan power, and the red or black with 
strip is the light.

Brian

On 11/1/2012 4:08 PM, Scott wrote:
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/[email-masked]

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