Ceiling Fan Running Slow

Only had the ceiling fan for a couple of years but it's now running slow. I googled it and it may need a new capacitor. Is there an electrician who can advise me please.

Yes there is a high probability that the capacitor has failed. Difficult to tell but a tell tale sign is some distortion or heat discolouration on the capacitor body. This may also have lead to a partial short circuit of the winding of the fan motor itself. If it is an expensive unit that you would like to hold on to, then you would need a sparky, but you may consider just swapping it out. Its all down to cost really. Just an after-thought but is there any unusual buzzing noise that wasn't there before? This is another sign of a faulty capacitor.

Elpando wrote:Yes there is a high probability that the capacitor has failed. Difficult to tell but a tell tale sign is some distortion or heat discolouration on the capacitor body. This may also have lead to a partial short circuit of the winding of the fan motor itself. If it is an expensive unit that you would like to hold on to, then you would need a sparky, but you may consider just swapping it out. Its all down to cost really. Just an after-thought but is there any unusual buzzing noise that wasn't there before? This is another sign of a faulty capacitor.

No buzzing noise, it's just going slower. We have the same type of ceiling fan in the lounge and it's going much faster. It's one of those which has a remote control. The fan cost me around 120 euros and it may be cheaper to get an electrician to replace the capacitor than buy a new fan and have it installed. Both fans were bought and installed at the same time.

ok. Maybe a couple of other things to try in order to narrow it down a little? 1... With it switched off, does it spin freely by hand? 2... Assuming that your other fan unit is identical, try the functions of your remote controls on each of the two fans. Note down any differences when comparing the two scenarios. A blade that doesn't spin freely may be due to a bearing? Divide and conquer

If both fans identical, then try the other remote, maybe a problem with that

Old style fans used capacitors and split winding on the motors to create a phase-shift system which gives the different speeds.
Modern fans, especially ones with infrared remote controls use a system called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to control the fan speed.

Assuming that there's no mechanical reason why the fan isn't able to run at full speed (do the test that Elpando suggested, rotating the fans by hand when switched off, to see if it's a bearing problem) then it's probably the PWM control unit within the fan that's faulty.

If your remote control looks like the one in this photo then buying this kit and replacing the controller is probably the cheapest option...
http://www.leroymerlin.es/fp/16633911/m ... cha=470227

Your original controller is probably repairable, and it may well end-up being a small electrolytic capacitor and or a MOSFET that is faulty and causing the problem, but it's probably not an economical repair given the relatively low cost of replacement fans.

Pete.

I know it's basics but . . . If your fan's remote is like the one on Pete's link, does your fan also have a manual cord pull like mine does (cut short)? If someone has pulled it that could be a reason as unless the manual cord pull is set on max speed the remote can't control the speed properly . . . Just a thought.