flickering lights are driving me crazy!

November 27, 2012 9:40 AM

why do the lights on my hampton bay ceiling fans flicker?

i have two hampton bay windward IV 52in ceiling fan/light fixtures (458-301) in my apartment. both of them have a problem with flickering lights. they don't start right away, but about 5 minutes after being turned out. they were installed this summer and are connected to regular light switches (not dimmers) and remote controls.

posted by sabh to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

When my neighbor's fan lights started flickering after being installed it was because the room they were in wasn't grounded. Do your lights flicker after being turned on, or off? I'm not sure what being turned out means.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 9:47 AM on November 27, 2012

Best answer: I had this problem with similar fans when I used the energy saving compact florescent bulbs. When I switched to normal incandescent bulbs it went away.
posted by heatherly at 10:02 AM on November 27, 2012 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: oops... turned ON, not out!
posted by sabh at 10:28 AM on November 27, 2012

I had the same problem with my ceiling fan. According to the electrician I had fix it, heatherly has it: The fixture is not properly grounded.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:44 AM on November 27, 2012

I suspect the bulbs too - are you using bulb specifically made for a ceiling fan?
posted by PorcineWithMe at 11:42 AM on November 27, 2012

If you're using CFLs, you should know that using most CFLs in a ceiling fan will drastically reduce their life, and if the fan isn't grounded, that will reduce their life even further. Getting CFLs specifically designed for use in fans will help with the first problem but not the second.
posted by johnofjack at 12:08 PM on November 27, 2012

Best answer: "Grounding" is a safety feature, not a functioning part of a normally operating circuit. Flickering is caused by loose mechanical connections, which may get worse minutes into operation when the wiring warms up due to current flow. My guess is loose wire nuts or screws, or worse in my opinion, a lazy electrician that "back-wired" the switches.
posted by AstroGuy at 2:48 PM on November 27, 2012