casablanca fan controller

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anthony001

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Recently I had returned to a previous customers house where we had installed 2 casablanca fans with in wall controlls. The customer said to me that the wall controll wasn't working in either room. I go to the first one and it works first try. then the H.O. starts pressing the buttons in disbelief and it shuts down. pulled it out and checked the wiring and nothing, check voltage, neutral, nothing.(by nothing I meant it was fine) So I go to the second figuring on a bad switch but this ones dead from the start. This reminds me of another customer that I had and the same sw would only work after being kept off for a while. Am I missing something here. Thanks in advance for the replies.
 
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anthony001 said:
Recently I had returned to a previous customers house where we had installed 2 casablanca fans with in wall controlls. The customer said to me that the wall controll wasn't working in either room. I go to the first one and it works first try. then the H.O. starts pressing the buttons in disbelief and it shuts down. pulled it out and checked the wiring and nothing, check voltage, neutral, nothing.(by nothing I meant it was fine) So I go to the second figuring on a bad switch but this ones dead from the start. This reminds me of another customer that I had and the same sw would only work after being kept off for a while. Am I missing something here. Thanks in advance for the replies.
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I've had problems also, had TWO fans in one room, programmed 1 remote to do both fans, ended up replacing one of the fans, owner said he would wake up in the middle of the night and the light would be on... (owner was a little strange) probably had the fan in vacation mode... woulden't listen to me..., worse part was needed a 12' ladder to take the fan down... plus I had to take the fan down, wait for another fan and go back and install the new one, at least he let me keep my ladder in his bedroom...

IMO probably interference with the RF, any electronic transformers in the house?
 
now that I think about it there are intercoms (nutone) right next to the switches in each room would this cause interference even if they weren't on.
 
This is somewhat of an aside, but it ties in.

I grew up the son of a watchmaker. Dad would have clients that swore that they could not wear watches because their bodies were "magnetic" thus causing the watch to refuse to run after a short period of service.

I'm describing balance wheel / escapement, and gears, spring wound. (I know. . .I'm dating myself. ;) )

Dad would demagnetize the watches, clean and adjust them, and explain basic human physiology to the client.

Some clients kept returning.

At any given time Dad had upwards of six watches on each wrist. The truly difficult watches had to be observed, some for days at a time, until the intermittent difficulty it had become evident.

As a service electrician, we don't have the luxury of being able to observe a client's fan control for any more than a few moments. The lesson I take from my Dad is that most of the difficulty rests in the budget manufacturing of the device and that upgrading to a more robust device generally solves the problem for the client. (Think Lutron, etc.)
 
How true... it seems half the time my customers will have an intermittant problem but of course won't show itself while I'm there. Like I say its much easier to fix a problem if I get to see (hear, feel, and/or smell) it happen, other wise I may end up fixing a dozen other problems I do find and still not fix it. At least in this case you got to see it happen.
 
I'm going back to the customers house tomorrow for additional work. I don't belive the two were interfering with each other. they are a decent distance apart, and there weren't any dip switches on the fan or the controll. when I cntacted the manufacturer they had said that in the fan itself is the controll board. on the fan it had only a hot and a neutral lead I'm guessing to turn on and off the board and then it receives the signals for its operation. I am remebering now that I had turned off the intercom system which was on (playing music) a little while before I tried I when it worked, is it possible that the master stations transformer is on the same circuit and causing some sort of interference.
 
One thing to check: any time a speed controller (wall-mounted or added remote) is used with a multi-speed fan, the fan's own speed switch should always be set to 'hi'.

I always set a fan on 'hi' before wiring an accessory controller in line with it, and then remove, or at least shorten, the chain. I've even been known to remove an unneeded switch.
 
The casablancas Ive seen dont come with chains, the wall controller does all the work. Other than that, I agree, you must set the fan speed on high at the fan before using the controller. I usuallycut the chain short myself,
 
I went back to the customers house killed the circuit for the intercom went back to the switch and it turned on in reverse (light, fan) but on then after a few minutes couldn't change the setting. this caused me to look at the installation instructions, which I downloaded. it actually says on there that no other lights or appliances can be on the same circuit as this control. I called the manufacturer and they said they can't even be in the same gang box as other switches because its a line driven signal. they can share the same neutral but not a feed or gang box due to interference. does this sound logical or even worth it. If every control can't have a shared circuit with lighting or appliances what can be on with it. can some one explian this to me, if you go to casablancafans.com and download the intellitouch wall control #4 or5 they tell you this. how is it that this product can be sold without and prior warning.
 
take it back and get a hunter or hampton bay
casablanca is way over priced and i've had their switches
be junk out of the box. had the rubber hub on one break
motor was spinning blades were'nt
no prob with the other two brands.... jmo
 
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