Technical Support Issues – The Top 6 Technical Faults of a Hunter Ceiling Fan

Hunter ceiling fans are known and trusted worldwide for their reliability. On the rare occasion there is a problem it can come as a bit of a shock especially as it usually happens after a period of non-use through the winter once the weather starts to warm up.

Hunter Ceiling Fan Capacitor Wiring Harness

Normally once the fan is installed you can look forward to years of operation and really not give it a lot of thought till there is a problem.  Our technical support is the best in the World – our staff know more than most Hunter staff themselves. And nobody stocks such a wide range of spares.   Every day our Technical Support Department gets questions from people all over the World who have purchased a Hunter ceiling fan and are encountering various technical issues.  All of the problems listed below are easily rectified and depend on the age of the fan.  It is always essential when contacting our Technical Support Department to be able to us the exact model name and approximate age of the fan.  We manage to resolve 95% of issues very quickly and we stock a wide range of spares and replacements to ensure resolution.  In the rare occasion that we cannot get your fan fixed and a replacement under the Lifetime Warranty is required then we can organise a complete fan replacement for you.  If your model is very old and obsolete then we will replace it with the nearest current equivalent model.   We can only do this for fans purchased directly from us  (and we have been around for 12 years now) so if you bought it cheap off ebay from some no name overseas company then please go back to them for a replacement – if they even still exist or will be interested in helping you!  We are still happy to assist and sell you spares on a best endevours basis but we cannot guarantee a resolution.

Here we list the top 6 most frequent technical faults that we come across.  We don’t include here replacements of typical parts like the pull chain or on/off switch.

1  The fan suddenly stops working or on installation does not work.

Probable causes for this fault are the remote control handset or receiver, the wall control, incorrect installation (wiring the fan up incorrectly), a broken switch or capacitor.  Note that a power surge such as what happens during a lightening storm could blow any isolation fuses or even cause the motor wiring to short circuit tripping the RCB.   If the fan is wired in using a fused spur then check the fuse first.  If the fan is not IP rated and is located in a damp or particularly humid environment such as a conservatory then this could cause electrical shorting and the blowing of fuses.

2  The light has stopped working or on installation does not work.

The probable cause is a faulty light kit and/or the fuse in the light kit has blown.  Other known causes are a faulty wall or remote control which could be either the handset or receiver, and a broken or faulty light switch or just an incorrect installation.

3 The fan or light functions on its own accord randomly.

This is usually caused by the receiver for the remote control signal which sits in the fan mounting canopy getting interference from another source in the same room or close by.  Manufacturers typically use the same set of RF frequencies for different consumer products and so for example a new Hi Fi system or TV could trigger this or even just rearranging items in the room.  The way to fix it is to change the RF channel on the receiver (usually by a dip switch) and in the handset which on a Hunter handset is accessed by a small panel on the back of the hand controller.   NB:  Do ensure that both the handset and the receiver are using the same channel or it will definitely  not work!

Hunter Ceiling Fan Replacement Hanging Kit

4 Speed failures

This is where not all the speeds are functioning as they should be.  The possible causes are poor installation, a capacitor fault or failure, and incorrect setting-up of the wall or remote control receiver.

5 The fan makes a humming noise

There are a variety of reasons behind this but often  it is usually down to a screw tightening issue.  It can be as simple as a single screw needing just an 1/8 of a turn. This could be a blade to blade iron screw, a blade iron to fan screw or even a fan housing screw.  Another possible cause is when a fan is wired to a dimmer switch in which the coil has developed a fault and needs to be replaced.  Try isolating the problem and use the fan without the light.  You could try disconnecting the wire to the wall swtich altogether to see if that stops it.  If the noise is more like a buzz then it could be a capacitor that has failed although this is rare as Hunter use very high quality capacitors.  If the fan is really old then it could also be motor laminates breaking down.

6 The fan is wobbling

There should be no wobble at all if your fan is correctly installed.  Wobbling creates annoying noises and wastes energy.  It can be eliminated either by choosing a Hunter fan that all come with the pateneted trilobular mounting system which automatically balances itself.  If for any reason the fan is very old or is not a Hunter fan and doesn’t have the trilobular mounting system it can be be balanced  by a simple balancing procedure.  To balance the fan first try swapping the blades over to see if it fixes the problem.  If not then use the balancing kit that comes with the fan to put a small weight on one of the blades.  A bit of trial and error should readily fix this issue.  We sell balancing kits separately if you have lost yours – you can order one from here.
 

Hunter Ceiling Fan Replacement Light Switch