How to Replace a Ceiling Fan Pull Chain Switch

Co-authored by Allen Lee

Last Updated: September 22, 2022 References

If your ceiling fan pull chain is broken because it was pulled out of the switch, there's an easy way to fix it. Open up the switch in the ceiling fan and remove the broken piece of chain before replacing it with a longer one. If your switch is completely broken, purchase a replacement at a local hardware store before removing the old one and installing the new switch. Make sure you turn the power source off before taking apart the ceiling fan to be safe.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Removing the Fixture Housing

1
Turn the power off at the circuit breaker for safety. Locate your circuit breaker, likely either in the basement, a closet, or even outside the house. Open the circuit breaker and turn the power off for the room where you’ll be working with the ceiling fan to make sure electricity isn’t still flowing when you’re removing the fan’s parts.
- If you’re not sure which switch is for the room with the ceiling fan, turn off the main power just to be safe.
2
Remove the light bulbs to prevent them from breaking. Set up a ladder or step stool if necessary to reach the ceiling fan easily. Unscrew the light bulbs carefully and place them on a towel nearby. If the ceiling fan has any sconces or globes, remove these as well by unscrewing them or using a screwdriver to remove any screws.^{[1]
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3
Use a screwdriver to remove the screws holding the light fixture in place. The ceiling fan’s fixture, or the main housing where the wiring is stored, will be held together with a few visible screws. Use a screwdriver to take out these screws, loosening the fixture to see the wiring and switch.^{[2]
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- Set the screws and detachable fixture piece aside in a safe place to reattach them later.
- If there are no visible screws, look for spring clips or a “U” shaped metal wire. Pinch the two ends of the clip together to remove the light fixture.
4
Unscrew the nut on the side of the fixture that holds the switch. Look on the outside of the fixture for a small nut. Unscrew this nut to remove it completely, letting you access the ceiling fan pull chain switch. Set the nut aside for safekeeping.^{[3]
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5
Pull out the switch to inspect the chain more closely. Now that the switch is loosened from the fixture, look at it up close. If the wiring of the switch is broken, replace it completely. Leverage the switch open using a screwdriver to see if the chain just needs to be replaced with a longer piece, or if it would be best to get a new switch all together.^{[4]
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- If the chain looks replaceable, use a longer length of chain you already have to fix it instead of purchasing another one.
- If the switch looks broken, visit a local hardware store to buy a replacement.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Replacing the Pull Chain

1
Pop open the switch using a small screwdriver. Leverage open the tabs along the switch using a screwdriver. Once you separate it into its 2 pieces, the things inside of it, like the chain and spring, will be visible. With the switch open, remove it from the wiring by pulling the wires out from the switch.^{[5]
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- Be careful not to lose any of the pieces when you pop the switch open.
- If you don’t see the spring and chain, pop off the protective plate holding them inside the switch.
2
Remove the broken piece of chain from the mechanism. Remove the contents of the switch, including the broken piece of chain connected to a disc and the spring. All of the contents inside the switch will be loose, making it easy to simply take them out. Pop the broken chain off of the disc using a screwdriver. Discard the broken chain after you’ve removed it.^{[6]
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3
Put a longer piece of chain in the old chain’s spot. Just as you removed the short broken chain, pop a longer chain that will reach through the fixture into place in the old chain's spot. Snap the longer chain into the disc where the broken chain was using your fingers.^{[7]
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4
Reassemble the switch by putting the chain and spring back into place. Put the spring and chain attached to the disc back into the switch. Pull the chain through the hole in the switch so you can pull on it easily. If you popped off a protective plate that holds everything together, press this back into place too.^{[8]
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- Hold down the spring and chain mechanism using your finger or a screwdriver so it doesn’t pop up while you’re attaching the two main switch pieces together.
- The 2 switch halves will press back into each other easily.
5
Place the switch back inside the fixture and reattach the switch nut. Put the switch back in the wires just as you took it out. Make sure you place the switch next to the spot where you unscrewed the nut from the outside of the fixture. Screw the nut back into place to hold the switch.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Installing a New Switch

1
Purchase a replacement switch at your local home improvement store. Either take a picture of your old switch so you know which one to purchase, or disassemble the old switch and take it with you. Look for a “fan light switch” or something labeled similarly.^{[10]
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- Ask an employee at the home improvement or hardware store for help if you’re not sure which switch to buy.
2
Disconnect the wires attached to the old switch. Pulling or twisting off the connectors that hold together the wires will disconnect them from the old switch. Remove each wire that’s attached to the old switch by pulling off the connectors, and take the old switch out.^{[11]
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- Take a picture of which wires are connected to the switch before disassembling it to reference the picture when putting it back together.
3
Strip 0.5–0.75 in (1.3–1.9 cm) of insulation off of the wires to attach them. Use a wire stripper to strip the insulation off of the ends of the wires attached to the new switch, cutting into the insulation with the stripper before pulling it towards the end of the wire to remove it. This will allow the electrical connection to pass through the wires.^{[12]
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4
Twist the wires together and cover them with connectors. Locate the old wires that your new wires will attach to and twist them together tightly using a clockwise motion. Many wires are color-coded, making it easy to match the correct wires together. Cover the bare wire with a twist-on connector, making sure the entire bare wire is covered.^{[13]
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- Refer to the picture you took of the wires the old switch connected to, if needed.
- Twist-on connectors are also called wire nuts and can be found at your local hardware store.
5
Put the new switch into the fan housing to reattach the nut on the outside. Since you removed the small nut on the outside of the fixture that holds the switch in place earlier, it's time to reattach it. Hold the switch inside the fixture, and screw the nut back on to the outside of the fixture to hold the switch in place.^{[14]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Putting the Fixture Back Together

1
Hold the fixture over the wiring and screw it back into place. With your switch replaced, place the part of the fixture that you removed back into place on top of the wiring. Hold it steady and use the screws to screw it back in using a screwdriver.^{[15]
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- Ask someone to hold the fixture in place while you screw the screws back in, if desired.
2
Put the lightbulbs back into the fixture if needed. If you removed any globes or sconces that went around the bulbs, reattach these first either by twisting them back on or using a screwdriver to reinstall the screws. Pick up the lightbulbs and carefully twist each one back into place in the fixture.^{[16]
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3
Turn the power back on through the breaker. Return to the circuit breaker and flip the switch that turns back on the power. If your circuit breaker isn’t labeled, make sure you turned the right power back on by testing the light switch in the ceiling fan room.^{[17]
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4
Test the pull chain to see if it works. Flip the power switch in the room if necessary to turn the fan on. Now that your ceiling fan pull chain switch is fully installed, pull on it gently to see if it works. If the lights come on or the fan starts to rotate, it's all fixed.^{[18]
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- Avoid pulling on the chain using a lot of force because this is often how it breaks.

Community Q&A

Question

If the chain just came off in my hand do I have to buy a new switch or can I just put the chain back on?

Community Answer

This happened to me 3 days ago. I had to buy a new 3-speed ceiling fan switch as the chain that broke will NOT go back in the switch. You'll need a big paper clip to get the wires in the terminal as per the directions that came with the one I bought from Lowe's.
Question

How do I know if the fan switch is working?

Community Answer

You will need a power tester with a light. Check each terminal for power with the switch on and off -- if it lights up when you turn the switch on, it is a good switch.
Question

We want to connect a 3-speed wall switch to replace the chain-pull switch on our ceiling fan. At some point there was a switch for a light, which was removed. There are 4 black wires inside the wall with wire nuts on them. The new 3-speed switch has 2 black wires. How can we tell what we are supposed to connect?

Community Answer

2 of the wires were for the light and 2 for the fan. You will need a voltage tester light to see which ones are power, unless 2 or 3 of the black wires are wired together, then those would be the power and the other black wires would be for the fan or light.