Messed up my Fantastic fan....

I recently traced an inoperative Fan to a bad resistor not allowing 12V to pass thru to the motor. Originally I thought it was a bad Lid Switch but that checked out OK.
I'll contact FF to see if I can get a resistor or the specs so I can buy one locally.
I flunked out of Electrical Engineering so I don't know the reason for the resistor in series with the motor power.
I also emailed FF and they sent me the same combination switch as above. I installed it today and the fan is now working again; new resistor/switch and original Lid Switch which I cleaned up.
In the process, however, I blew the fuse at the fan and replaced it with another fuse from a second fan. It is a 250V 4A glass fuse (hard to read the small print on the fuse)

Wow, the Fantastic Fan people are amazing. I called. I confessed. I explained about the resistor and he knew exactly what I was talking about and said he was going to send me new switch that incorporates the resistor (not the fuse next to it). He said, "If you've taken the motor apart this will be a piece of cake." haha....He doesn't know why that went out -- it's thermal thing so what I was doing with the motor shouldn't have affected it. I even offered to pay for it, told him it was my fault. He wasn't havin' it. I wish these people ran the world....

You are very welcome. Have a look at my earlier post on page 2 of your thread. It is a lot easier to clean that way and does not involve going up on the roof. Can even be a 'rainy day job' as the vent cover can remain closed while working.
Art.

Rvpapa wrote:
It is actually a thermal fuse. I think it was added to shut off fan in case of fire. The earlier ones (my first is from 1993) did not have one. The second one used to have one but actually a real hot sunny day was enough to open it. At the time called Fantastic and the person I spoke to had no idea what it was. Joined the two leads with a butt connecter and worked fine ever since. And yes the first one is still working after 20 years full time. They really are FANTASTIC.
Art.

Oh, wow, great! I have exactly one left after placing the others in both fans so I could remove them for a thorough cleaning.

Thanks so much, All for the input! I will update after I've reconnected and reversed the brushes.

And yes, mine is 13 years old and well, until I messed it up -- was still kicking.

It is actually a thermal fuse. I think it was added to shut off fan in case of fire. The earlier ones (my first is from 1993) did not have one. The second one used to have one but actually a real hot sunny day was enough to open it. At the time called Fantastic and the person I spoke to had no idea what it was. Joined the two leads with a butt connecter and worked fine ever since. And yes the first one is still working after 20 years full time. They really are FANTASTIC.
Art.

That part is either a Resistor to control Fan Speed or a Thermistor to measure Air Temperature. If your Fan lets you dial in a desired temp, might be Thermistor. If Resistor, the air venting is there to keep it from overheating. If Thermistor, it's vented to allow moving air for temperature measurement.
The site I listed earlier has parts diagrams that should tell you what it is, but you'll need Model Number. Or better, call FF.

Anyone know anything about that little circuit? Could having the brushes the wrong direction or touching, having blown that circuit?

And is that something I'll need to get directly from Fantastic Fan?

Yeti plus wrote:
Getting a little motor back together is usually more frustrating than working on a larger motor.
In the first picture the brushes are riding on the bearing. They have to ride on the commutator which is the copper coloured part below the bearing.
You have the brushes in backwards, the wires go to the outside. The brushes wear down to where the wires attach.( takes several years to get there.) If you look closely there is a curve on the one that matches the commutator. The other one should be the same, but I didn't notice it in the picture.
I think once you get the motor back together properly it should work.
Good luck.
Brian

Ah! Wonderful! Thanks!!! Had the brushes right the first time. :)

Getting a little motor back together is usually more frustrating than working on a larger motor.
In the first picture the brushes are riding on the bearing. They have to ride on the commutator which is the copper coloured part below the bearing.
You have the brushes in backwards, the wires go to the outside. The brushes wear down to where the wires attach.( takes several years to get there.) If you look closely there is a curve on the one that matches the commutator. The other one should be the same, but I didn't notice it in the picture.
I think once you get the motor back together properly it should work.
Good luck.
Brian

Ok, as promised -- photos! I reversed the brushes and still no action so I pulled the panel from below and traced the power coming into the fan and found the spot when it I no longer get any reaction from the multi-meter (I'm getting good with this thing -- offered to trouble-shoot the neighbor's bathroom fan but they know I killed mine so I think they're a little bit afraid of me.

Here is a peek inside the lid of the motor that shows the correct position of the brushes against the center thingy (has a name, starts with a 'c' -- I forget). When you lift the lid they come clear of the 'c' thing and come together as they are spring loaded. If you ever pull the cap off (don't recommend it, that's how I got into this mess in the first place) make sure you notice how the brushes are placed in their housing (which end the wire is on) as they like to pop out completely.



When the cap is removed, this is what you see -- the brushes have come together:



Here is a view of the motor itself. When you replace the cap you have to pull apart the brushes with your thumbs and slowly slide them towards yourself while catching the back corner on the center 'c' thing. Very tricky. This fan is from a 2001 rig. I don't think it's been changed out. Yours may look a bit different but...same general idea. I don't know yet which position the brushes need to be in -- if the wires should be toward the center or toward the outside, or one of each. ?(Future poster says they should be the reverse of this and should be riding on the copper just below where they are pictured -- thank you!)



Now, the underside. I followed the power in from a few inches to the left of the right hand corner of this photo -- you can see them in a knot there. From there they go to the speed knob which is on the lower left in this photo. Everything checked out there. Branches off to the fuse. That checks out.



From there it goes up to the little circuit in the upper left corner. Ok going in. *Not* ok coming out.



So, I think this is the problem. (And from there it goes back over to the in/out/off switch, so that's not getting juice.) So I think it's the circuit that got blown when I let those brushes collide (or who knows when). What is that little mesh opening for -- is that a rain sensor? I don't have a rain sensor on my fans -- I have to close them manually. ?

Can I get this circuit at a hardward store? Ours has a Radio Shack section.

I'll update when I find out more. I couldn't find any photos on line of the inside of the motor so I thought I'd put these up in case anyone else every got carried away and dismanted the thing like I did (If you did, please sign your name below so I don't feel like the only fan-maming idiot.