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Electrician's Advice Needed

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Stargazer | 00:56 Mon 10th Dec 2012 | DIY
6 Answers
I have just discovered that my bathroom extractor fan will not pull on. It is a ceiling mounted one with a nylon pull cord. The last time I pulled it off it was really hard to pull and I had to yank it very hard right up near the box to get it to turn off. I may have broken the switch or burned out the motor. Is this something I can replace myself? I would turn off all the electricity obviously. It is a 12 volt ceiling mounted low wattage Homebase extractor fan. 100 mm . There are two strews to unscrew but when I have done that is the wiring fairly obvious? I still have the instruction sheet from when it was actually fitted.
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It MAY just be that the cord has become unthreaded or tangled. If so that should be fairly obvious, but fiddly, to fix
Yes, it may only be the cord. In any case, it's a simple job to remove the cover and take a look.

If you have to replace it, you'll find that it's wired into a small transformer, unless it has one built in. Isolate the circuit and go for it :o)))
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It is not the cord as I can hear that click on and off. If I remove the cover of the celing fitting which is only a 4 inch square box, will it be obvious to me if there is a transformer in there (what does it look like)? If there has been a transformer fitted into the loft immediately above the ceiling fitting and it is the transformer that has gone, presumably I will not be able to do this myself.
I do not want to pay for something I could do myself. On the other hand, if it is complicated, I may have to get someone in.
It's more likely to be a separate transformer. If you can follow the wiring from the fan into the ceiling, you should find it. Something like this......

http://www.screwfix.com/p/robus-rm70d-20-70w-electronic-transformer-240v/97554

Your problem Starry, is that you won't know which has gone wrong. If you have a test meter, you could easily check the output of the transformer.

Not complicated at all. You just need to work out which one to replace.
Question Author
I have unscrewed the cover and all the wires are correctly connected. However it looks as if the on/off switch has permanently stuck on off and it can't be accessed The fitting is white box 4 in square 12 volt. What I would like to know is can I buy another 4in square 12 volt relpacement box fitting or will I have to purchase a complete kit comprising fan unit, transformer and ceiling pull switch box?
The electrician who fitted this present one told me over the phone that you cannot buy just the ceiling box. I got my existing complete kit from Homebase (ie the one that has conked out).

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