Looking for advice on removing ceiling fan

[Deadalus]

I taped a stick to an old smart phone, pushed the phone though the hole in the ceiling, and took some video. There are only white romex cables up there.

Three wire is more rounded vs 2 wire. Three wire uses bare metal staples typically, whereas 2 wire uses a plastic strap with two small nails. The full metal staples can be used on 2 wire, and installers may not use the correct staples either, if at all, so no guarantee. However, your three wire in the wall box has either white or light gray insulation. It can be seen on the lower clamped wire in your picture.

 

[whoaru99]

Looking at the picture of the wall box and light switch, the 2-wire cable that appears to go up out of the box is wired live. That seems to coincide with needing to use the pull chain to turn the ceiling fan light on/off. That could be easily disconnected to confirm it's the ceiling feed.

The 3-wire cable with the red appears to come into the box from below. That's not an absolute guarantee it is from below but I think it's a new consideration to explore.

Sometimes there are switched and/or split wired duplex receptacles where one outlet is live and the other is switched. Those are not immediately obvious unless you've actually used it. Have you checked for that possibility (and rather than what's above, what's below that might be on that switched leg)?

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Homeowner/handyman/brother-in-law did a replacement ceiling fan for the original setup. The second two people might not have expected the radio feature. Note the ceiling receiver had a set of unused, labelled wires, which in my guesswork, should have been used. Original ceiling fan likely had two switches, with one left so there wasn't a blank or in case of future replacement. Shouldn't have left it live!

If you are referring to this photo then the 3 bottom wires are attached to the fan/light fixture.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

The 3-wire cable with the red appears to come into the box from below. That's not an absolute guarantee it is from below but I think it's a new consideration to explore.

Sometimes there are switched and/or split wired duplex receptacles where one outlet is live and the other is switched. Those are not immediately obvious unless you've actually used it. Have you checked for that possibility (and rather than what's above, what's below that might be on that switched leg)?

I used this tester on both outlets in each receptacle - they all work but none are controlled by the wall switch.

 

[Deadalus]

If you are referring to this photo then the 3 bottom wires are attached to the fan/light fixture.
View attachment 851257

OK my bad, I thought that was a separate set and maybe why all the functions didn't work but you capped them off. The labels were hard to read. There was a programming step mentioned for Hampton Bay ceiling fan radio controllers, may have not been programmed fully or was out of whack then.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Well, guys and gals, I think there isn't much more to this thread.

1) It looks like there is a hot red wire from the wall socket to who knows where. If I have understood your comments correctly then I can ignore as it is probably capped off somewhere. I am anal retentive so I might just have to get a pro electrician out to look at it. I will leave the switch in the wall though I'll probably patch the hole for just the single switch (anal retention in action).

2) For the fan/light fixture, I can buy one with voice-assisted/remote control unit so that at least the fan and lights are controlled from 1 source.

I really do appreciate all your help!

 

[mac_1103]

1) It looks like there is a hot red wire from the wall socket to who knows where. If I have understood your comments correctly then I can ignore as it is probably capped off somewhere. I am anal retentive so I might just have to get a pro electrician out to look at it. I will leave the switch in the wall though I'll probably patch the hole for just the single switch (anal retention in action).

Don't ignore it. Right now you have a switched red wire that quite possibly terminates somewhere in a wall or ceiling. That is a potentially dangerous situation. Disconnect it from the switch and cap it off. Disconnect the hot from that switch too and remove it. If the ceiling box is still hot then a new fixture should work off the remote. You can leave the disconnected switch in the box if you want - it will now be a switch both to nowhere and from nowhere. However, this will still be a code violation since you need a switched fixture or outlet somewhere in the room. So I would try disconnecting the two remaining black wires from each other and capping them separately. If only one is hot when you turn the breaker back on, then you can connect them to a single pole switch for the ceiling fixture and just leave it in the on position all the time so that the remote controls everything and the whole thing is to code.

Disclaimer - I am not an electrician; I don't play one on TV; In fact, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Well, guys and gals, I think there isn't much more to this thread.

1) It looks like there is a hot red wire from the wall socket to who knows where. If I have understood your comments correctly then I can ignore as it is probably capped off somewhere. I am anal retentive so I might just have to get a pro electrician out to look at it. I will leave the switch in the wall though I'll probably patch the hole for just the single switch (anal retention in action).

2) For the fan/light fixture, I can buy one with voice-assisted/remote control unit so that at least the fan and lights are controlled from 1 source.

I really do appreciate all your help!

When I replaced my ceiling fan (it had a fan/outlet wall switch), I bought one of these trough Etsy,

https://www.etsy.com/listing/956759327/for-ashby-park-remote-holder-light?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=ceiling+fan+remote+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&content_source=d1ff1352a6567c9b643a72e6e453a3e85040320d%3A956759327&organic_search_click=1

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

When I replaced my ceiling fan (it had a fan/outlet wall switch), I bought one of these trough Etsy,

https://www.etsy.com/listing/956759327/for-ashby-park-remote-holder-light?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=ceiling+fan+remote+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&content_source=d1ff1352a6567c9b643a72e6e453a3e85040320d%3A956759327&organic_search_click=1

Nice! Thanks

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Don't ignore it. Right now you have a switched red wire that quite possibly terminates somewhere in a wall or ceiling. That is a potentially dangerous situation. Disconnect it from the switch and cap it off. Disconnect the hot from that switch too and remove it. If the ceiling box is still hot then a new fixture should work off the remote. You can leave the disconnected switch in the box if you want - it will now be a switch both to nowhere and from nowhere. However, this will still be a code violation since you need a switched fixture or outlet somewhere in the room. So I would try disconnecting the two remaining black wires from each other and capping them separately. If only one is hot when you turn the breaker back on, then you can connect them to a single pole switch for the ceiling fixture and just leave it in the on position all the time so that the remote controls everything and the whole thing is to code.

Disclaimer - I am not an electrician; I don't play one on TV; In fact, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I'll disconnect the red for the moment, and get an electrician to see if they figure out what is going on. Thanks!

 

[whoaru99]

I'll disconnect the red for the moment, and get an electrician to see if they figure out what is going on. Thanks!

Personally, if you're calling in an electrician I'd leave it alone for him.

The wire should dead with the switch off. Tape the switch in the off position in the mean time if it's a big worry.