Ceiling fan has power at switch but won't turn on
Even though power and connections have been verified, the fan fails to run at all. This prevents the unit from moving air and functioning properly.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Ceiling fan has power at switch but won't turn on
- 1checking the capacitor for bulging or damageDid this help you?
- 2checking incoming supply voltage and low voltage signal at the motorDid this help you?
- 3jumping R to G on the terminal blockDid this help you?
- 4Switching the breaker off and onDid this help you?
- 5Adjusting the thermostat settingsDid this help you?
- 6Putting bleach in the drain lineDid this help you?
- 7Contacting customer service multiple timesDid this help you?
- 8Disconnecting and capping specific wires like the red wire separatelyDid this help you?
- 9Checking blue wire connections and the light plug harnessDid this help you?
- 10turning off the power switch directly at the inside blower unitDid this help you?
- 11removing the thermostat from the wall and disconnecting its batteriesDid this help you?
- 12checking the contacts for burns or pittingDid this help you?
- 13testing components with a meterDid this help you?
- 14checking if the capacitor is deadDid this help you?
- 15verifying the high voltage is turned back on at the disconnect or breakerDid this help you?
- 16checking if the contactor is failing to transfer high voltageDid this help you?
- 17checking if the breaker in the disconnect failed when turned offDid this help you?
- 18ensuring wiring matches reference pictures taken before the repairDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“for some reason even turning it off and setting the fan to AUTO, the fan is still blowing. We even turned off the breaker switch for both the furnace and AC. Still blowing!”source ↗
“As the title says, the blower motor in the air handler stopped.”source ↗
“The AC will turn on and freeze up since the blower motor isn't working.”source ↗
“I switched my breaker off and turned it back on. A/c won't come back on. I been playing with the thermostat all day and It won't turn back on.”source ↗
“I go outside and the machine is not circulating as well.”source ↗
“Anyone got any recommendations on what I should do?”source ↗
“Yes we set the stat to off and removed it from the wall. After a minute or so we disconnected the batteries entirely to see if that changed anything too.”source ↗
“I went to look at it cause my AC wasn't running and it was stuck in the call position but not actually turning on my unit”source ↗
“yeah nah i definitely stopped lmao but it's throwing me off because my ac stopped working yesterday, i took the cover off and the contactor was in the call position but the fan wasn't running”source ↗
“I changed the capacitor out and when I turn the unit on via thermostat now, I hear a click like the unit wants to turn on but nothing happens.”source ↗
“I switched the capacitors again and get the same result now, clicks and nothing powering on.”source ↗
“The fan does not start with a nudge as before either.”source ↗
“The blower motor doesn't turn on.”source ↗
“First fan I ever installed and the fan works fine but the light hasn’t come on at all.”source ↗
“The fan works light doesn’t.”source ↗
“The remote is for the light and fan ): and the remote for the fan part works fine! Ugh”source ↗
“For whatever reason it is not turning on at all. I have verified all connections are solid. I used a non-contact voltage tester to ensure that I have power at the fan and the switch.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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