home electrical question

[topher5150]

in the ol' ladies bedroom she has a ceiling fan, and the fan and the lights are controlled by one switch. my concern is that to turn on the lights you tap the switch up about half way and to turn the fan on you wiggle it side to side and slide it up almost the rest of the way. Do they sell a switch like this that can replace this switch or am I going to have to rewire the whole damn thing.

 

[lomax07]

You should be able to find something similar in your local electrical supply. Here in Maryland we have a Home Depot and a Lowes. Are your lights dimmers or regular on/off lights.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Two things you never connect to a dimmer switch are, florescent lights, and ceiling fans.
Bob.

 

[SoonerLS]

What I'd do (and what I actually did) is get a wireless remote kit for the fan and use a regular light switch on the wall. My living room ceiling fan has a Hunter wireless kit; I think the one in my master suite is a Hampton Bay (I was at Home Depot and just picked up the kit with the best feature list). I don't recall either as being particularly expensive, but it has been a few years since I installed them.

 

[topher5150]

You should be able to find something similar in your local electrical supply. Here in Maryland we have a Home Depot and a Lowes. Are your lights dimmers or regular on/off lights.

It's all connected to one switch but it looks like regular on/off switch

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Pull it apart and I would think you would have two different wire leads to deal with; one for the fan and one for the light. You should be able to replace it with anything that serves the purpose and fits in the box. I have used this to control a fan and its light separately, but from the same single-gang box:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_70804-539-SFSQ-LFH-WH_4294821967

 

[ford nut]

Pull it apart and I would think you would have two different wire leads to deal with; one for the fan and one for the light. You should be able to replace it with anything that serves the purpose and fits in the box. I have used this to control a fan and its light separately, but from the same single-gang box:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_70804-539-SFSQ-LFH-WH_4294821967

+1 some fans have a on/off pull switch on the fan.
Some require two switches wall mounted.

Sounds like a wall switch fan, and a bad switch and or a dimmer switch.

Fire hazard.

 

[chicken]

my dad always wired the fan hot and just the switch to the light