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Bathroom Exhaust Fan Not Working

  
  
  

exhaust fanI get a lot of calls to repair bathroom exhaust fans that do not work. Interestingly, many of these calls come from new homeowners. You are going to need a ladder to troubleshoot the fan, but many of these problems are fixed in under one minute.

Pull down the plastic cover on the exhaust fan. It will come down about 3 inches before you need to disconnect it from the housing. Follow the cord from the motor and make sure it is plugged in. This is the number one cause of the fans not working. I assume that the previous homeowner didn’t like the noise of the fans, and so they unplug them. Plug the fan back into the outlet in the ceiling box and if it runs, you’re done.

The other most common problem is that the fan and/or motor is so clogged up with gunk, it is unable to move. We’ve all seen it, look up and the plastic cover is full of dust bunnies. These can make their way to the blades and motor. You can clean this off using a rag and a compressed air canister. If none of this works, you may have to replace the exhaust fan.

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Comments

I have two exhaust fans in two different bathrooms that went out the same exact time. Coincidence? I removed the cover, there is power and I can hear the motor. The blades move a little with the motor, but I can turn them with my hand. Any ideas? 
Posted @ Saturday, January 15, 2011 9:48 AM by Mike
I have 3 bathrooms and the only thing that does not work in all three bathrooms are the ceiling fan and lights, all the plugs work in all three bathrooms. I tried switching off and on the power circuits but nothing... I looked for reset buttons to press but nothing found. what steps can i take to fix problm?
Posted @ Tuesday, September 20, 2011 1:23 AM by MARC CANCINO
I have two bathroom fans that both have this odd characteristic: When turned on, they don't go on right away. But maybe ten minutes later, they'll start up and run fine. I have one down on my bench now, all nicely cleaned up. Runs smoothly - when it runs. No rattle, no indication of bad bearings. I have not been able to get into the motor. Plug ity ion- nothing. Come back later, it's running fine. After it has been running a while, and is then turned off, then plugged back it, it will start. If you wait a couple of minutes before plugging it in, it will try to turn, moving slowly, and will come to life when given a little spin manually. Ideas?
Posted @ Sunday, January 06, 2013 4:03 PM by Ken Carroll
My bathroom fan stopped working. I replaced the motor and spinning fan but it still doesn't work. Other electrical things on the same circuit work just fine. Any ideas on how to fix it?
Posted @ Monday, April 01, 2013 3:05 PM by leah
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