soooo a few weeks ago I get home form and adventure and my light won't turn on.. It worked when I left and nada.. So of course I figure ehh burnt out bulb. Replace it and should be back in business .................

Wrong... As I was removing the original bulb the socket felt loose.. So I made sure to hold it to keep it from twisting when I removed the dead bulb (yes it was actually burnt out as the filiment inside was busted) and put a new one in.. Of course my luck has it and now the light still isn't working. I removed that bulb and put it into another lamp to make sure it was working and we have a winner... But not a for the ceiling light.

Knowing that my "summer" is fading and so will the light I caved and bought a celing fan light kit in hopes that's what needs to be replaced.

My biggie question's are.... How hard is it, and what all tools will I need??? Do I turn the power off at the breaker if I can locate the one for my room? Should I take this, seemingly simple task, on?

not hard at all I could do it and not even turn off the breaker not a option for you though. Only should need a screwdriver just take your time and be carefull. If you want to have fun with this have the boy do it after all he needs to start wearing big boy pants and if you don't make him do it his wife will hate you for it someday....... Then you can stand there and turn the switch on and off while asking him is the power still off....

Oh Mike the visual that I'm getting is freaking PRICELESS!!!! thank you for that...
Now I had considered having him do this, and still kinda thinking of it.. but seriously I don't need a screwdriver sticking out of my forehead when he goes into his inherited tantrum mode... If I can catch the moody teenager at the right time maybe I'll take a chance though as you are right. He needs to learn how to do repairs and how to do them correctly.. I'll hand him the instructions first and ask if he's tough enough to take that project on...

and why shouldn't I try this?? I mean it's only going to be on a short ladder what could I possibly do to hurt myself hahhahahahahah

wear a helmet!

I just did 2 full ceiling fans last week and was amazed at how simple they are now, light kit was plug and play, match the 2 plugs, 3 screws and done.

coolio.. My dad said we'll Git-R done.. He's willing to "direct" the boy in this simple project

Just to be sure, you tried turning on the power at the wall switch and at the ceiling fan light switch, correct? No sense replacing a fixture if it's just an on/off issue.

Is this one of those where you have 1 wall switch that turns on the whole fan/light assembly, or do you have 2 wall switches, one for the fan, one for the light? If you like the light fixture, no sense replacing it, unless you'd rather have a different one, it's up to you.

1. Single wall switch: Turn it on and make sure the fan comes on. If fan comes on but no lights, problem is up in the fan area. If no fan or lights, problem might be in wall switch or fan area.

Fan comes on, no lights: Remove the light kit and verify none of the wires have come loose from any of the wire nuts. Black wires are 110v, white are neutral (return), green is ground. You need a good contact on the black wires, and the white wires, the green ground wires are just in case there is a short circuit, the electricity has a path to ground and not through you.

Pull on the wires a little, see if any of them are loose or come out. If so, tighten up the wire nut. This should fix it. If not, set a multimeter to 200v AC and check for 110V between the black and white wires. If it's there, the light switch may have gone out or socket has a poor connection in it and needs to be replaced. Either way, a new light kit will replace both. Make sure you get a good tight connection when you install the wire nuts, remember, keep the black wires with black wires and white wires with white wires.


Fan and lights don't come on:
Remove the wall plate and switch, be careful not to touch any bare wires or screws on the sides. Use a multimeter set on 200V AC, check for 110V between any white wire and the 2 black wires on the switch (one is power in, one is power out.) With the switch in the on position, you should see 110v between a white wire and either side of the switch. If not, turn off the circuit breaker to the branch and replace the wall switch. If you have power coming out of the switch, problem is up in the fan area. Follow the procedure above.


Congratulations, you have fixed your ceiling fan problem and are now a journeyman electrician.

Steve the ceiling fan is on one switch, and the light is on the other. I did all the testing (ie: pulled the light pully cord, made sure the switch was on) before I called it useless. Ohhh I don't wanna be an electrician, I don't even like getting zapped testing 9v batteries

The socket for the light bulb moves around. So I figure it's somehow twisted loose and broken something. Since it's a single light I have wanted to change it anyway. This is a perfect time. Heck if stinking fans weren't so expensive i'd have bought a new one.. But since the fan works I opted to Keep it Simple...

You're probably right, the socket is loose and not getting good contact.

Installing a new one is easy, definitely have the boy do it with you. I'm sure he'll enjoy the feeling of accomplishment!

Have fun!

I just hope it's something he'll do and take as a positive. Thanks for the info

Depending on the age of the fan, it might not be plug-n-play. If thats the case, then its just cutting, stripping the wires and using some wire-nuts. Still easy though.

How many Scatty cakes does it take to screw in a light bulb???






























What? It was a question??

I ....

But somebody should take and post'em.

Fan is less than 15 years old. Pretty sure it'll end up beign plug and play.


Lucky for you guys there's only One of me

might be easeier to just buy a new house

Mission accomplished, and I didn't fall of the chair, get electrocuted or even break a nail but I do have light again

Of course I did have my "supervisor" (dad) making sure I did it right

Congrats! Great job!

put one up in the back room, with a remote, works great ........