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SteveDallas · 12-21-2009, 12:33 PM

I need some electrical wiring advice. I've been googling around and haven't found a definitive answer.

In our new addition, the overhead lights in the bedroom and 2nd floor bathroom are all on the same circuit breaker.

The builders installed a basic ceiling fan in the bedroom. We had a fan with a remote control in the old bedroom, and we decided we wanted to switch the two fans. So I did. The original basic fan was hooked up to a three-wire cable, white to white, black to blue (for the light), and red to black (for the fan), giving control of the light to the wall switch and leaving current straight to the fan for pull-chain control independent of the wall switch.

The remote control box for the fancy fan only has two incoming power leads, hot and neutral. So when I wired it I hooked those to the white & black leads and capped off the red lead with an extra wire nut.

Since this time, about one week, the circuit breaker has tripped three times. This is, in fact, an AFCI breaker. My theory is that it's the "loose" red lead that's occasionally causing the breaker to be unhappy.

So, best way to deal with the red lead? (Hooking the red & black together doesn't seem like a good move.)

12-21-2009, 12:33 PM	#1
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Stupid wiring tricks I need some electrical wiring advice. I've been googling around and haven't found a definitive answer. In our new addition, the overhead lights in the bedroom and 2nd floor bathroom are all on the same circuit breaker. The builders installed a basic ceiling fan in the bedroom. We had a fan with a remote control in the old bedroom, and we decided we wanted to switch the two fans. So I did. The original basic fan was hooked up to a three-wire cable, white to white, black to blue (for the light), and red to black (for the fan), giving control of the light to the wall switch and leaving current straight to the fan for pull-chain control independent of the wall switch. The remote control box for the fancy fan only has two incoming power leads, hot and neutral. So when I wired it I hooked those to the white & black leads and capped off the red lead with an extra wire nut. Since this time, about one week, the circuit breaker has tripped three times. This is, in fact, an AFCI breaker. My theory is that it's the "loose" red lead that's occasionally causing the breaker to be unhappy. So, best way to deal with the red lead? (Hooking the red & black together doesn't seem like a good move.)