Hunter 23572 light kit, grommets

[john1in1va]

I have two Hunter Original fans, probably from the 80s based on what I know about the house reno. I started by trying to order new blades, but Hunter says my unit is obsolete. I went ahead and ordered two sets of the current Originals blades. Looks like I need grommets that Hunter doesn't appear to sell. Can someone help me source these?

Also, now that I'm jazzed about my apparently amazing fans that cost $500+ to replace, I've gone and ordered light kits (Ebay). One has arrived and I installed it, but the light doesn't come on. I'm reluctant to start fiddling under the canopy. I read that it might be the pull switch mechanism. Does any one have any tips before I call an electrician?

Thank you,
John

[todthefanman]

As for the blade grommets they can be found here: www.hunterfan.com/products/ceiling-fan-parts-blade-grommett-white-0598902000
Given your fan has 4 blades you'll need to order 12 of these as they are sold individually.

As far as the light kit goes there are a couple things you can try.

1. Use a voltage tester on the light kit lead wire (the black with white stripe wire) to see if there's power going to the light kit. If the light kit lead wire is not receiving power you will need to see if the light kit wire is connected to the house wiring under the canopy. There's a chance that because the fan didn't originally have a light kit that the light kit lead wire was not connected to power.

2. Depending on the type of light kit, you could omit the pull chain all together to verify that it is in fact the problem. However I would try #1 BEFORE doing this. It is possible but unlikely that the light kit is faulty, there's very few things that can actually go wrong with them. However if something were to go wrong with the light kit, nine times out of ten it's the pull chain switch.

The good news is if the light kit actually is faulty it's either one of two things. The socket or the pull chain switch, both of which are replaceable. Hopefully this helps, if not it would be helpful to see a photo of what light kit you're trying to use with this fan.

[john1in1va]

Todd, thank you so so much.
I'll explore wiring, order grommets and update.
Very best,
John

[john1in1va]

I bought the grommets, and they worked great. I was actually concerned that the ones you recommended were white, and got some black ones off eBay. But they aren't even visible, so I'm not sure why they even make different colors. And a case, it worked great, the new blades are very nice. The laminate was peeling off my old ones.

Update on the light kit: I attached the light kit that I couldn't get to work to my -other- fan, and it worked just fine. Very satisfying! Then I bought a tester, and the black wire for the light kit has no voltage. So I think you're probably right that it's not connected to the house up under the canopy. I'm going to need a much taller ladder to reach that high, but I'll check it out.

Meantime, I noticed that the white wire labeled as "attach to light kit" was free in the housing. I was reluctant to disassemble the other fixture to examine the wiring anatomy. I noticed that there was a blank/empty opening on the little "reverse" switch thing. It goes in there, right? I stripped and inserted the white wire.

Also, to see if it was attached to anything up higher in the canopy, i pulled on the black wire. There was no resistance, it just came and came. I thought better of pulling it all the way out, but when I try to push it back up there, it won't advance. I sure hope I haven't created a very bad situation. I guess I'll get the taller ladder, open the canopy, see if I can fish the black wire back up there somehow, and connect to the house.

Last note, I added a bottle of Hunter's fan oil to this second fan after I got the light attached. The fan accepted the whole bottle and just barely overflowed, so guess it was bone dry.

Open to any suggestions on above wiring adventure.

Thank you,
John

[todthefanman]

The white wire with the "attach to light kit" label does in fact go in the reverse switch. It sounds to me like you put it back in the right place. Those wires in the reverse switch have a way of sneaking out if you're not extra careful, and they don't always like to go back in.

There are quite a few wires that run through the shaft of the Original, it's likely that the light kit lead wire you pulled is getting stuck on the others. In fact if you look at the top of your fan you will see several wires coming out from the top of the motor housing. Those wires run from the outside of the motor housing right into the shaft. I'm guessing your light kit lead wire is getting hung up on those. Rotating the wire as you try to fish it back up the shaft may help. If that doesn't work you'll need to use something that doesn't bend as easily as the light kit lead wire to fish it back up through there. If you attach a piece of single strand wire (or something of comparable stiffness) to the end of the light kit lead wire that could work to get it back up through the shaft. It's not really a bad situation just a little inconvenient, but it's certainly doable.