How to wire in an on-off switch for ceiling light from power source going to living room.

You simply use the ceiling fan switch to power the fan. U can hook it up in parallel to the other light fixture. The wall switch can power both units but you can always shut off the fan. To run the fan and kill the light you would need a separate circuit for the light with its own switch. Or hot wire the fan as you indicated.

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Gene

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If turning on the lights caused such a huge surge of power that it flipped the breaker, it could have been enough current to fry the hot wire (the one electricity flows into the fixture from) leading from the source to the fixture, or to blow the contact point where it connects to the fixture. This is even more likely if the fixture is old and doesn't have a green grounding wire to dissipate excess current, or if your wiring is prone to weakening from age or animals chewing on it.

If this is the case, you should flip the breaker to the off position and call an electrician immediately, since the hot wire will still be live up to the point of the break. A live wire floating around in your ceiling is a major (and I mean major) fire hazard.

The most common way the houses are wired is through the ceiling. The power comes into the box that the light is on. The power is wired to the light on one wire and the other goes down to the switch. The return comes back from the switch and connects to the light. What the did was connect the wire that feeds the outlets to the switch.

Question needs more details. Let me answer as if you have one light and one switch, and one cable coming into switch box from ceiling.

Usually a switch-dimmer combo operates 2 different Loads (lights).
One light is controlled by switch, other by dimmer.

If power source is in ceiling, then one cable enters switch box.
Cable has black, white and ground wires
Old switch had 2 brass screws where black and white wires connect
Black wire brings Hot down from ceiling, and white wire connects back to Load (fan).
Neutral wires are in ceiling box, and not inside switch box, and are discussed.

With new dimmer: Black Hot wire from ceiling connects to dimmer black wire.
White Load wire connects to one of the red wires.
The other red wire goes to another Load, which is unknown at this point.

Add a comment for more free help. Say what cables and wires enter box, and what Loads you are controlling. Also add exact model number so expert can reference manual. Levition instruction sheets and manuals usually have toll free number.

Also take advantage of fixya expert assistance live.
For a price, expert works with you via e-mail or phone while you work on circuit or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.

The key seems to be that you changed wiring in the ceiling box.

I suggest you make a drawing of the wires before and after. Track the route that the Hot wire takes.

The key question is this: Does Hot wire from breaker box arrive in the ceiling box first? Or does it arrive in wall box first?

I think Hot from breaker arrives in wall box first. And from there Hot wire goes to ceiling box ... and from ceiling box the hot wire goes to other plugs in room. If this is true, you will be one wire short for installing fan control switch.

I always make a drawing of existing wires before starting, so I can put it back the way it was. It sounds like you got a good handle on which wire goes where.

We used to solve the one-wire-short problem by making a simple project bigger. Figure out which direction ceiling joist run. See if you can slide fish line from fan ceiling box over to wall. If that works. Over at the wall, chop small hole in ceiling so you can feed wire up to fish line. Pull wire over to ceiling box. Next, staple other end of wire along ceiling over to location above wall box. Chop another small hole so you can feed wire down to wall box. And then install beautiful crown molding to hide the mess, and paint the room so you need new furniture.

As an electrician, this is a fairly common problem with any kind of fixture - not limited just to paddle fans. The problem is likely a loose connection in the ceiling box, or even elsewhere in the circuit, as the chance that both the fan and light failed at the same time is very slim. Since the fixture is a paddle fan - when it is operated it causes movement and is a dynamic load - as a opposed to a static load that a non-moving simple light fixture would present. The constant movement can loosen a connection over time. Before we go any further, operate any speed control / light switch on the fixture itself to make sure they haven't been accidentally set to the off position.

Shut off the power. Loosen the screws on the cover or canopy that that will allow access to the wiring compartment in the ceiling. LOOK for anything obviously loose. You may need to have someone hold the fixture once you remove it from the hanger to see the connections - or simply disconnect the fixture wires from the house wiring completely. There may be 2 or 3 wires besides any bare or green ground wire that supplies the fixture. Photograph or otherwise mark the wires before removing the fixture wires.

Turn the power back on, and use a tester (preferably a meter) to see if power is present on the ceiling box wires that supplied the fixture. If present, the problem lies in the fixture wiring or individual fan / light pull chain switches. Wires do not fail along unbroken lengths unless cut. They will fail at places they are joined together. There may be a wiring compartment in the light fixture that has a loose connection. Inspect for loose or bad connections with power off and continue testing as above until you isolate the bad connection.

If there was no power in the ceiling earlier when the power was restored, there is a break elsewhere between the power source and the ceiling box. You'll have to look in switch boxes and outlet boxes in the room and possibly adjoining rooms to find the loose connection. It may even be in an adjoining room's ceiling box, too. This is a labor intensive job - and can take some time to locate and repair. Take your time and only turn power on when ready to check for the presence of power.

Of course, you could call an electrician to do the work for you. I hope this was helpful - good luck!

My first response would be to seek help from an electrician or someone qualified to perform this work.
If you are going to attempt it, you will need the following items:
- electrical box
- light switch
- light fixture
- wire ( ask you local hardware store clerk what is recommended or needed to meet code in your area.

Disconnect power at breaker to your source.
From your source,
- connect wires to electrical box. then to;
- connect wires to switch then to;
- connect wires to another box at the fixture
- connect fixture to the box.

box=====switch=====box=fixture.

The wiring for a ceiling fan is usually pretty simple. The wires are connected color for color. that is black/lack, white/white , green to green or to the mounting bracket .. this color connection would also apply to the connections at the power source. If you have a light kit on the fan and two switches on the wall , then the red wire from the switch connects to the other wire on the fan, usually blue, if there is only one switch, or you are wiring it direct, then the black and blue wire both connect to the black power wire.

Usually the two wires that go to the wall switch are used to break the load, (switch the power (COMMON) OFF and ON to the fan).

The other wires in the ceiling box are the supply wires.

You need to look at the wires and find the pair that are LIVE, the one set that has live power on the BLACK wire. This set of wires are the SUPPLY wires. You can use a voltage detector or a neon bulb tester to determine which wires are LIVE. Once you do that, you should turn off the breaker until you have finished the installation.

Connect with a wire nut, the Ceiling (SUPPLY) box WHITE (neutral) wire to the fan's WHITE wire.

Connect with a wire nut, the BLACK (common) SUPPLY wire in the outlet box, to the WHITE wire going to the switch box,

Now connect the the BLACK wire coming from the switch box to the Fan's black wire.

Be sure to connect the bare copper ground wires together with teh Green (or bare) wire from the fan, with a wire nut.

This completes the wiring of the circuit and the fan should go ON and OFF with the wall switch. Now turn on the breaker and check for proper operation.

You can change the speed of the fan with the pull chain on the fan, if this is a standard ceiling fan.

Hope you find this information Very Helpful and best regards!