Ceiling Fan Helpdesk

I bought some new ceiling fans for the house, and today, I decided to try to put them up.  Despite the fact that I’m electrically-challenged, I somehow managed to get the first one installed with minimal incident.  Before I put all of the finishing screws, caps, and fan blades on it; I felt it would be prudent to actually make sure that it would turn on.  I turned on the breaker, flipped on the switch, and I waited.  Nothing happened.  I flipped the switch on and off several times just to make sure that it didn’t need a jolt.  Nothing.  I flipped the light switch on too, just to make sure that I didn’t wire the two backwards.  Nothing.

So, I went back downstairs to turn off the breaker, climbed back up the ladder, and I re-checked all of the wires to make sure that they were still connected.  Everything was fine.  I tried switching the wires just in case the electrician had gotten them backwards.  Made no difference.  I took the switch plate off the wall and made sure that the wires were actually hooked to the switches, and they were.  I plugged in a wall lamp just to make sure that the room was getting power, and it lit up fine. 

I was stumped.  So, I decided to break down and call my father for advice.  He patiently walked through every single thing that I had tried myself, and then he paused.  After several seconds, he said, “Did you pull the chain on the fan, because it comes from the factory in the ‘off’ position?” 

I instantly felt a wave of embarrassment come over me.  I had just had the ceiling fan equivalent of an IT helpdesk call.  “Is the computer actually switched on?”

Of course, it would be the simplest, most-obvious thing.  I was just over-thinking it.  As I always tell my associates when they are troubleshooting an issue…always check security first.  In other words, start with the easiest solution and work toward the more complicated.  I should heed my own advice.  I was just schooled by a ceiling fan.