Stupid wiring tricks

[tw]

Originally Posted by SteveDallas

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.

Significant facts are missing. First, is this an AFGI in the breaker box or one in a wall receptacle?

Second, if the red wire is capped, then how do you control the fan? Does the fan and light both get powered simultaneously by the remote control?

Reasons from tripping. AGFI is tripped by two common problems. First is arcing. Every wire must remain connected without the wire nut. IOW the wires must stay connected only because they are wrapped around each other. Only then is the wire nut added as the always required 'backup' connection. A loose connection causes arcing. Arcing is detected by the AGFI which trips.

Second problem. Extra care is required to separate neutral (white) wires from safety ground. Normally, safety ground shorted to the hot wire trips a breaker. Safety ground intermittently shorting to a neutral wire would not cause problems. But safety ground shorted to or leaking to neutral wire causes an AGFI to trip intermittently or constantly. Good workmanship means safety ground connections are made first and then fully pushed to the back. Safety ground connections are located in a separate area inside that box. And so that as the cover (or fixture) is connected, all wires remain better separated from each other.

If a red wire is capped on one end, then it must be capped on both ends. If the red wire is capped, then how does a remote control control light and fan separately?