Icon Extractor Fan

[njkmr]

Hi Good evening all,
I read on here about Icon 30 extractor fans ,so i fitted one in the bathroom .I got the humidity module with it and put it on the lighting circuit ,so it comes on when the bathroom begins to get steamy .(oooh er !!)
However the other night it started making strange .It stopped spinning and groaned a bit as if sticking.Then it stopped altogether .
Taking the cover off,it still has power to it .The fins still move freely and the face plate opens as it should do when switched on .

Any ideas what may be wrong .Its wired as shown ,but i noticed when i tested with eleecy screwdriver tester that when powered ,eg lights on in bathroom ,the live is on the blue wire even though its wired as per instruction on the unit itself .eg L= red wire,blue to N .

Any help appreciated .
Ta .

 

[RF Lighting]

Is yours wall or ceiling mounted?

How long has it been in for?

 

[Taylortwocities]

but i noticed when i tested with eleecy screwdriver tester that when powered ,eg lights on in bathroom ,the live is on the blue wire

Never trust a neon scredriver to do anything except to tighten up a screw.

They will give you false readings, wont tell you if the neutral is connected and IMHO are (potentially) dangerous.

 

[njkmr]

RF Lighting, it is ceiling mounted and has only been in since about Oct 08.
3.5 months thats all .

No wires seem to be loose or anything .

 

[RF Lighting]

I think first of all you need to check the voltage at the fan with a proper tester, testing live to neutral, live to earth and neutral to earth.

Let us know the results.

 

[njkmr]

Unfortuanately I dont have a tester RFL .I wouldnt know what to do with one either to be honest .
If I did get one what would I be looking for ?Is it complicated ?

Thanks for the response .

 

[njkmr]

Further to this I tried to ring the helpline on the fan and it went to someones answer phone who has not got back to me !!

I also emailed the people I bought it from Online .Allaboutelectrics.Again no reply and no telephone number for them .Anyone else dealt with Allaboutelectrics .
Regards
Rob.

 

[sparkyspike]

The motor and the shutters operate together, so as the shutter is opening the supply is probably ok - you just have a knackered motor. Take it back for a replacement.

 

[njkmr]

Thanks sparky ,thats what I was thinking .Trouble is I cant get hold of the supplier now !!!

 

[njkmr]

Delivery guy turns up at my door today with a new extractor for me .Still not heard any response from allaboutelectrics ,but fair play to them they sent a replacement .

Another question , if the blue wire has become live and red neutral in a mix up somewhere and I wired the fan in this way would it have caused the fan to run in reverse and would this possibly be why the fan only lasted three months ??
Apologies if daft question .I have someone calling tomorrow to sort it out the correct way .
Regards
Rob.

 

[Spark123]

As the supply is AC then wiring it the opposite way around wont cause it to run backwards.
I'm sure you'd notice if it was running backwards anyway as it would blow air in as opposed to extract!

 

[rebuke]

Your neon screwdriver may have shown the neutral wire to be 'live' because it would have picked up the return current when the device was active. This is one of many reasons why neon screwdrivers are useless...

 

[njkmr]

Thanks for the replies fellas .
If I go back to the beginning ,the power supply for the fan is taken off the lights in the bathroom ceiling .8 spots joined together in a loop if you like ,wire into one ,out into the next and so on ,both ends of loop back into junction box so if one bulb fails they all dont go off .
The extractor fan power is then taken off one of these wires via a seperate junction boxin the loop .When I take the fan off the wire to remove I dont understand how the blue wire shows live .I bought a tester today and when I went blue to earth it showed 246 v .
The lights work fine ,switch on off,but cant suss out the reason for blue live .
Could it just be as simple as light feed wire to my loop has been put in wrong way round at the junction box thus making it like this,?
There is five wires into junction box supplying my light feed ,with red to reds blue to blues and mix of others to others !!!
Although it is getting sorted tomoz I just need to understand whats actually doing what .
Apologies if you have all lost the will to live listening to this !!

 

[rebuke]

Are you saying your spot lights are wired in series, as that would seem very strange...

Does each light in your 'loop' have a live and neutral, or is there just one wire (and presumably an earth) going between each light? If you do (as you should) have both a live and neutral between each light, then there's no need to bring the other end back to a junction box, as one bulb blowing will not take out the others...

 

[njkmr]

Hell ,Im losing the plot now.
Junction box to first light L and N and earth I think ,without taking the little box apart on the individual light .Then out of the connection box on light comes another L and N and earth wire to next light and so on .So in effect twin and earth in ,then a twin and earth out to next one .Does this make sense ?
Im not actually sure now if the last one does feed back to the junction box ,I may have got myself confused .As its under upstairs floor I cant see all the wires .
Regards
Rob.