Harbor Breeze Light kit not working
Is your Harbor Breeze light kit not working? We have listed the steps that will not only work for Harbor Breeze but other brands of ceiling fans as well. If your light kit has stopped working, but the fan is working, here are some steps you need to perform to check your unit.
Check if the light bulbs need replacement
It is a simple step but a valid one, to check if the problem is with the bulb. If it does, it is great. to install a new bulb, check our article on how to change a bulb on a Harbor Breeze ceiling fan.
Check if the lighting kit contains any loose wires connecting the light kit inside of the fan’s housing
It needs more involvement as compared to checking bulbs. In order to perform this, you have to pull down the fan from its mounting. There is a method that you can use to check it without completely taking down the fan.
Having said that, if you are not familiar with electrical, the best would be to get help from an electrician to examine it. Before you start with any electrical steps, you should turn off the circuit breaker to the fan first (safety measure).
Check and Replace any Light Bulbs that are burnt out
During the light bulbs inspection, look inside the filament. We have shared a picture below that will help you with it. If the filament of light bulb is broken, then the bulbs need replacement. Another way to check it is by shaking the bulb. You need to do it lightly and slowly. If a rattling voice is there, it means the bulb is broken. Avoid the hard shaking or you will increase the risk of breaking the filament yourself.
Now, you need to check inside the light bulb or socket. Check the wires and see if there are any scorch marks or burn marks. The burn marks will indicate the location where it may be short. You need to have a look at the bulb as well as inside the socket to find out if there are any burn marks.
Before you check your fan or inspect wiring, the first thing to ensure is turn off your circuit breaker. This step will prevent you from electrocuting yourself or anyone assisting you in this. If you are uncomfortable, hire an electrician.
If there are any burn marks which are available on the socket, replacing the light kit will solve the problem.
Check the inside of the fan housing for any loose wires – especially the lighting fixture
Once again, before you begin, turn off the breaker to begin with this step. To perform this, you have to get access of inside the fan housing. By removing a couple of screws, you can access the fan housing and it also enables you to reach the canopy. The fan housing access will save your time and you can do it without pulling the entire fan down. We have shared a video of 1 minute that helps with removing a few screws to reach the ceiling fan wiring inside.
You can avoid watching the parts where removing the blades is also shown unless you want to remove the whole fan from the ceiling.
After checking the wiring, if there are any loose connections, make the connections with new wire nuts. At times, people use solder but this is not a good advice because there is nothing to connect the solder. Use the wire nuts to tight the wires together and wire nuts will ensure a more secure connection than solder.
Check inside of the Light Socket for any Burns or Corrosion
The next thing to check is the inside of the socket after removing the bulbs (as show in the video as well). It is an easy task to remove the bulb and you might have done it in the past when a bulb is faulty. After removing the bulb, check if there is any corrosion or foreign objects that should not be there. You can remove any corrosion that you see with the help of a light brush. Refrain from using anything stronger or heavier than a light brush, because you do not want to do any damage to the light socket that can be easily damaged.
Check if there are broken Pull Chains
Broken pull chains can also restrict the ceiling fan from working, or the light may not turn on as well. Some older models of fans can be without a remote. In some cases, you can buy a remote or universal receiver to modify the fan so that it can accommodate a remote. However, it is not common. In most cases, it does not have the right wires or enough wires to make a connection to a receiver, if the fan was not designed for the sake receiver. The fan’s technology as well as the circuit itself were not made to accommodate a receiver.
Modern ceiling fans come with the ability to talk with a remote. however, if your fan only contains pull chains, the best course of action is to replace the pull chain if they are out of contact. So, when you pull them, you will feel they are not doing anything or touching anything or interacting with anything. You will get a feeling if they are not connected when you pull them, or if it does not cause a noise of a switch, try changing them.