Bad Zing Ear ZE-208D speed control switches on eBay

[rob3rt]

    The switch on my Moss Heirloom ceiling fan failed again.  As usual, the chain broke inside the switch.  I have replaced it twice before; last time was in November 2010.  I found several vendors on eBay selling switches with the same part number and I installed one and it did not work.  I bought another one from another vendor and installed it and it didn't work in a different way (can't turn the fan off).  I just got a refund on the first one and I will attempt to get a refund on the second one.  I just want to alert everybody that this problem exists and ask if anybody knows where to get a REAL ZE-208D.  I did not have this problem when I replaced it twice before.  I cut the old switch open so I could operate it and did continuity tests.  In one position, L connects to 1 on both layers.  On the next position, 1 connects to 2 on both layers.  On the next position, 2 connects to 3 on both layers.  On the next position, L connects to 3 on both layers.  No other connections are made in any position.  On the ZE-208D I bought on eBay, L connects to 1 on one layer and L connects to 3 on the other layer in one position.  There probably were more discrepancies, but that alone makes it the wrong switch.  It's going to be a long hot summer if I have to keep buying and installing and returning switches every week.  Where can I get the right switch?

[Obi-Wan Canopy]

All switches are not the same, even if they look the same or share a model number. You will need to match up the original switch.

ceilingfanparts.com can help you

[rob3rt]

I tried Ceilingfanparts and they don't have what I need.  I looked at the parts list for the fan and I found a note from the '80s that says the original switch was a Jin You E70469 and Zing Ear ZE-208D was a replacement.  I found the E70469 at Tedss.com but he calls it a push-button switch, he does not give information on connections, His return policy includes "Electronic components that might be damaged by excessive current or voltage may not be returned if they were taken out of original packaging.", and his website doesn't work (got an error trying to get a shipping cost), and it costs $25.  Nobody answers the phone today but I will try tomorrow.

[Obi-Wan Canopy]

If ceilingfanparts doesnt have it, you might be out of luck.

[Obi-Wan Canopy]

Zing ear has a website. That part number crosses to 4 different switches.

[rob3rt]

     Apparently, all Zing Ear ZE-208Ds are not alike.  That designation only describes what the outside of the switch looks like.  Internally, they function many different ways.  In order to get an identical replacement for your particular switch, you have to test to see which of the 8 terminals are connected to other terminals  in each of the 4 switch positions.  Then you have to find a vendor that tells you which connections are made on the 208D they are selling and compare that to your switch.  What a SNAFU!!!  I could not find a match for my switch on the internet.  I got a refund for the first switch I bought and the vendor said I could keep it.  I took it and the old switch apart and confirmed that the switching parts were different and made different connections but the mechanical pull-chain parts were interchangeable.  I cleaned the contacts on the old switch and used the new pull-chain section.  If you want to do this, you will need to replace the rivets with two 2 mm screws 25 mm long and 2 nuts to fit.  They were hard to find but RaceDayQuads had them.  The fan is working fine now and I have asked for a refund on the second 208D that I bought which functions differently from the other 2.  It gave me 4 speeds and no off when I installed it.

[rob3rt]

The first sentence in my last post does not look right. I consulted my The Elements Of Style and I would like to correct the sentence to: Apparently, Zing Ear ZE-208Ds are not all alike.