How to Add a Switch for a Ceiling Fan Light
It would be so convenient if you could just flip the switch on the wall and turn the ceiling fan light off or on rather than reach for the pull chain. Installing a separate switch could mean tearing into the wall to install a bigger electrical box. You can avoid tearing up the wall by adding a double switch to your single gang switch box. You can do this without the help of an electrician. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Phillips or slotted screwdriver
- Electrical tester
- 12/3 nonmetallic (NM) cable
- Dual NM wire cutter/strippers
- Orange wire connectors
- 12-gauge THH in solid
- Double switch
- Duplex receptacle cover
Instructions
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1
Turn the power off to the ceiling fan by turning off the ceiling fan circuit at the main breaker panel.
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2
Remove the cover plate from the switch that operates the ceiling fan and test to verify the power has been disconnected. Use an electrical tester and touch one prong to a black wire on the switch and the other prong to any metal on the switch box. If the tester does not light, then the power has been disconnected correctly. Repeat this same test for the remaining black wire on the switch.
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Remove the original fan switch. Remove the switch cover plate to expose the switch and the wiring. Pull the switch from the switch box and loosen the screws on the right side of the switch. Disconnect the two black wires and discard the switch. Locate the two white wires connected together inside the switch box and remove the wire connector from them. Repeat this for the bare copper wires inside the switch box. Pull the two sets of wires apart.
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4
Disconnect the ceiling fan. Remove the ceiling fan canopy from the ceiling fan hanging bracket. The ceiling fan canopy is located at the top of the ceiling fan and is held on to the bracket by two or more screws. Remove the wire connectors holding the black wire from the electrical box to the black and light kit wires from the ceiling fan. Repeat this disconnection for the two white wires inside the electrical box. Disconnect the bare copper wire from the green ground wire on the ceiling fan bracket by removing the wire connector.
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5
Pull a length of 12/3 nonmetallic (NM) cable from the ceiling fan electrical box to the original switch box. Tie a length of 12/3 NM cable to the original cable inside the ceiling fan junction box. Secure the two pieces of cable together by wrapping them in electrical tape. From the switch box, grasp the original electrical cable and pull it from the box. Because the original cable is connected with the new 12/3 NM cable, as you pull the original cable you are replacing it with the 12/3 NM cable. After you have completed pulling the wire though the wall, make sure you leave 6 inches of cable exposed at the ceiling fan junction box and the original switch location to complete your wiring.
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Strip the cable at the ceiling fan junction box. Remove the sheath from the NM cable with a dual NM wire cutter/stripper, exposing the black, red, white and bare copper wires. Strip ½ inch of insulation off the red, black and white wires.
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Reconnect the ceiling fan. Connect the black wire from the new cable to the black wire from the ceiling fan by twisting an orange wire connector onto both wires. Connect the white wire from the ceiling fan to the white wire from the junction box in the same fashion. Connect the bare copper wire for the ceiling fan junction box to the green wire on the ceiling fan bracket by twisting an orange wire connector onto them. Connect the red wire from the ceiling fan junction box with the remaining wire from the ceiling fan, connecting them with an orange wire connector. Replace the ceiling fan canopy.
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8
Create pigtail wires. Cut two 6-inch pieces of 12-gauge THHN solid black wire. Strip ½ inch of insulation off the ends of both wires.
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9
Install a replacement double switch at the switch location. Connect the two black pigtails to the black power supply wire inside the original switch box by twisting an orange wire connector onto all three wires. The power supply wire runs directly back to the breaker panel. Wrap one pigtail around one screw on the right side of the double switch and wrap the other pigtail around the remaining screw on the right side of the double switch. Tighten the screws to hold the black wires in place. Strip the new 12/3 NM cable at the switch box. Remove the sheath from the NM cable, exposing the red, black, white and bare copper wires. Strip a ½-inch of insulation off the red, black and white wires. Inside the original switch box, locate the white wire and connect it with the white wire from the new cable using an orange wire connector. Repeat this connection for the original bare copper wire and the bare copper wire from the NM cable. Push both sets of wires back into the switch box. Wrap the black wire from the new cable around either screw on the left side of the double switch. Wrap the red wire around the remaining screw on the left of the double switch. Tighten both screws. Install the double switch inside the single gang switch box by attaching it at the top and the bottom of the box with screws provided with the switch. Cover the switch with a duplex receptacle cover.
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Turn the power back on to the ceiling fan by turning on the breaker at the main electrical panel.
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Tips & Warnings
Test to verify that the electricity has been disconnected in the area that you are working to avoid electrical shock.
