Is there a way to reset the electronics/motor or is there a switch or something that I can flip to get the fans to work again?
There is absolutely nothing else wrong with the fans (there are two) - one is thinner and all off white, the other is thicker and has a sort of khaki tinge to the metal and off white guard grills and blades. Each of them has 5 plastic blades.
I am sick and tired of buying new fans when one falls or is pushed from the windowsill by one of my cats!
Is there a manual or some tip someone can give me? Do you know of a website where I can get this information??
Thank you for your help!
as for me, i'm better off with a vintage lakewood box fan. i recommend a 3rd gen Lakewood box fan. you can find a good box fan here @ www.dtvintagefans.com
the motors on the newer lakewoods have a chip so when it blows, it's unrepairable, so a new motor is recommended
Ok, it looks like this post has been here a while, but what the heck. I had the same thing happen now, twice. I recently tore one of them apart to see what was going on inside. and yes, a box fan is a simple piece of electronics. but as with every other piece of electronics out there, there is a fuse inside. A little difficult to find, because you have to take and remove the motor, and remove a piece of heat shrink to get to it. not something the normal consumer will try to get to. but i can not tell you if it is a slow blow fuse, or standard. I can tell you that mine is a 2A fuse.
As the box fan is a simple electronic, I would take the fan apart and check the solder points. If one has broken loose or is cracked, simply re-solder the point. Test it and try again.
Another suggestion would be to go to your local hardware store and find some appropriate L-brackets to secure the fan to the sill while still maintaining the ability to remove it and close the window. A little human ingenuity can probably outsmart a cat. ;)
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
Try replacing the "start-run" capacitor. It is the rectangular black box mounted on a tab next to the motor inside the cage, two wires attached (cut them close as close to the capacitor body as possible). Other symptoms include not moving at all with a hum, and getting very hot. The capacitor is a 5% tolerance 8 microfarad rated at 250vac. It doesn't have to be the exact form factor but it does have to be heat rated at or above 70C per design parameters of the fan.
WARNING! Make sure to protect the leads properly because this capacitor is connected directly to the power mains during operation. If one of the leads electrically shorted against the fan housing or cage could cause a catastrophic failure of the fan, and possibly a fire, and possibly give a nasty shock to whoever was switching on the fan at the time.
The latest Jameco electronics catalog (www.jameco.com) has a 5 uF 370 volt motor-run capacitor for $1.95. It may however, be too physically large to fit in the motor case. Hope this helps!
mcdevito75 here, If the fan is not too old I would figure yes, but a replacement motor will cost as a new fan, if not more, then you have to install and the blades are a presss fit to the motor.
mcdevito75 here, Check to see if there is a reverse switch on the fan, most of them do, if so flip the switch for proper air flow. the Reverse switch may be together with the speed / on/ off switch either by pulling in it or depressing it, or the reverse switch could be seperate, as say a littler toggle switch. The reverse switch could be with the on/off switch, try to pull or depress the on/off switch and note fan spin direction, also try to twist the on/off switch for fan reversal.
A smoking fan motor implies that there is a winding short circuit. Best to discard the fan and buy new rather than taking a chance on a possible fire hazard. Good luck!
I think you need to buy a new fan. Unless this thing cost several hundred dollars it isn't worth rewinding and a capacitor isn't likely to cause it to stop working, the cap is for STARTING it spinning anyway and sometimes they are used to HELP it run better, but it will try to run if you spin it and since your's does nothing, more than likely the windings are gone.
try cleaning it and put oil especially at the base of the shaft.then try wiggling the shaft for bushing tolerance.if you feel the shaft wiggles to wide, then you'll need to replace the bushing and the shaft.but before anything else check the thermal fuse.it is found on the motor itself or try to borrow a tester with resistance measurement to check for continuity of the winding by connecting the probes with the plug, one each terminal.then turn the fan on.the pointer should move if its ok, unless burn out.if not.then the thermal fuse blow-out.
My switch unit also fell apart as I took the back off and I didn't get to see the correct position of the switch. After much trial and error, I found this to be the initial "Off" position (see photo)
×