What makes my ceiling fan hum?

Question

I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom with 3 speeds. It has a central glass bowl light. Often, on speeds 2 or 3 the fan hums/buzzes kind of loudly. This is really annoying on speed 2, the most used speed in my house. What might be causing this problem and how can I fix it?

Answer 1

When you turn the fan on with a switch at the wall, the fan must be turned to its fastest setting (at the speed selector switch on the fan). If you try to start the fan on a lower setting, this produces an excessive load on the fan motor as it tries to come up to speed. Eventually, this can damage the motor. When you hear a buzzing sound coming from a motor, this is an indication that there is something wrong. Try switching it to the highest speed for turning it on. If the problem persists, the motor may already be damaged, and it will eventually just quit (or you can replace the fan to get rid of the noise).

Answer 2

I have a ceiling fan that hums too. It sounds like an eletrical buzzing sound coming from the motor. My fan has a dial on the wall that you can turn, but it doesn't affect the fan's speed. When I turn the dial all the way up, it hums, and when I turn it down the sound goes away and the fan still goes the same speed. It might be normal, but ask an electrician. Asking should be free.

Answer 3

I can think of only one thing as the reason: Balance.



Your fan blades are not in balance. At the hardware store ask for lead weights. They are small, very thin and about half in by half inch. Attach it to one blade near the centre, turn it on 2. Look for wobble. Keep moving the weight outward and turn it on everytime until you get the balance right. It takes patience and several attempts. once you found the exact spot, fix the weight permanently to the fan blade.



That will do it.

Answer 4

maybe the motor is going bad or its not firmly set in place in the ceiling causing it to hum at the higher speeds

Answer 5

Try tightening the nuts and bolts

Answer 6

if it's on a dimmer lose the dimmer and use a standard switch

Answer 7

maybe it does not know the words