TL;DR Summary: The Limitor part you are looking at (T160: Labeled Y59 B 120C or similar) is a thermal/current limiting switch. It has failed and is probably why your lights aren’t coming on.
A couple of weeks ago I flipped on the light to my kid’s room and I was startled by a PLINK and blue arc flash of death that signified that it was time to begin the ritual hunt knowing that there was, like, a 5% chance I would have any bulbs that would fit.
Oh, it’s not like the socket or bulb are anything special - I was just playing the odds with my Schroedinger’s Lightbulb Cabinet of Utter Inconvenience. Since I needed two 40W candelabra bulbs, it was likely I would find one 15W, one 40W standard socket bulb, and twenty-seven 100W outdoor flood lights. If I need a flood light, there would be a completely different distribution of stuff there. Maybe it would just be filled with scented candles and a whale oil lantern but it would almost certainly contain no flood lights. I’m sure you have a junk drawer or pantry shelf with similar qualities in your house.
So imagine my surprise when, lo and behold, there were two perfectly good 40W bulbs at the ready. Awesome. Let’s just screw them in and flip the ol’ switch and… nothing.
Hmmm…
The fan’s still working so maybe I didn’t screw in the bulbs tightly enough. Nope, that’s not it. Let’s try the pull-chain - I never use it, but, hey, you never know - while I was hunting for the bulbs maybe someone else in the house tried to be “helpful” and yanked the pull chain a random-but-odd-number of times (look, don’t even get me started…). No dice.
“The pull switch must have died when the bulb blew. Wonderful,” I thought. I shut off juice to the fan, removed the bulbs, took off the housing, removed the switch and took it to the garage so I could write down the info for a replacement. On a whim I screwed in the bulbs, got my multimeter, and measured resistance across the switch. Low resistance. I pulled the chain. High resistance. I pulled the chain. Low resistance again. Everything was fine.
Again, hmmm…
Well, maybe the switch had some crud in it and I knocked it loose taking it out. I put it back in the fan and, of course, nothing. I wondered if I was getting power to the bulbs at all... I mean, the fan runs, the bulb must have been getting power before it blew, and all the breakers looked OK...But since you never know what kind of maniac wired your house it makes sense to check all sorts of things it makes no sense at all to check, you dig?
Since the wall switch felt mechanically "fine" (not loose, good action going from up to down then back) I decided to test for power to the bulbs at the fan. With the wall switch in the OFF position I got the expected 0.0VAC. In the ON position, though, I got less than 1.0 VAC but not zero. I mean, what gives? It's a switch, some wire, another switch, and some bulbs, right?
Wrong. I didn't notice the little part (pic in the upper left of this post) that was in series with the bulbs. On the front it had the label “Y59 B 120C” and on the back it had “Limitor T160”. After some searching (I couldn’t find an exact match [9/27/15 edit: see comments for link to part]) I was able to determine that it was a thermal/current limiting switch. If its surroundings get too hot (120C) or the current gets too high (B = 5 amps, I think), the switch opens and kills power to whatever it is that is causing the issue.
Good idea, right? I guess, but in this case I'm questioning the reasoning behind installing it here.
I mean, 120C?! Yikes! This is higher than the melting point of many commercial grade plastics, but is thankfully under the melting point of PVC insulation. Based on the location of this item, the recommended max wattage of the bulbs, and the distance of the bulbs from the metal housing, things would have to be pretty bad for this tiny thing to decide that the only way to save the day is to shut off the lights while the apparently-engulfed-in-flames ceiling fan blades continue to merrily spin round and round...
I can almost hear the calliope music now.
Since the lights were off when I flipped the switch and stayed off after the remaining lightbulb popped off to join the choir invisible I was 100% sure this part did whatever it does to keep the inrush current under 5 amps while the tungsten filament vaporized (destroy itself, I guess). No heat issue. No lasting over-current issue.
After some more searching on Hunter ceiling fans I discovered that lots of people have had this problem. I also discovered that some people REALLY, REALLY hate the Hunter corporation and Home Depot. It's all "lack of customer service" this and "horribly filthy expletive deleted" that. Entertaining but not super helpful. The Limitor website seems to disavow any knowledge of that exact part number, and the closest match I could find at AllElectronics was for a normally open switch, not a normally closed one.
A couple of sites, though, said some people simply bypassed the switch and things got back to normal. The reasoning some gave for justifying the bypass was a little cavalier and/or conspiracy theory driven (ranty planned obsolescence stuff).
Normally you don't want to bypass or defeat safety devices but, in this case, I couldn't come up with a scenario where the thermal part of the switch would ever be useful. Maybe... and this is a pretty big "maybe"... if the room was already at the upper operating limit for the fan AND the bulbs inside were at or exceeded the max wattage AND the fan was not running then maybe the temperature inside the wiring housing could get to 120C, causing the switch to open in an attempt to cool down the unit. But, even then, once the unit cooled down the switch would (maybe) close and either a) arc weld itself shut or b) self destruct open.
Exactly the way a lightbulb filament fails...
So why not use a thermal fuse to begin with? Or "nothing"? Does this thing also have some surge-suppressant capability that helps extend the life of the bulbs? Maybe. If so, maybe it’s also there to extend the life of the pull-chain switch. I’m sure there is a reason I am not smart enough to understand, and I wasn't going to armchair quarterback their engineering/sales/legal decisions any further. After all, the sun was going down and you need good light to fix a light (something that totally blew my six-year-old's tiny little mind).
So in the end I cut power to the fan, snipped out the part, stripped the wires, and twisted them together with the smallest wire nut I had. I reassembled the... uhh... assembly and flipped the wall switch. After cursing profusely in the gathering darkness for a few seconds I remembered that I yanked the pull chain to the light while I was putting it back together. Dummy. Another pull and there was light.
And I saw that it was good.
I kept the two 40W incandescent bulbs shining for a few hours and "measured" the housing temperature with the back of my hand. Nice and cool.
I might someday just out of curiosity take a thermocouple and actually measure the temperature inside the housing but I probably won't. If I notice that I am going through a lot more bulbs than usual I might revisit this issue, especially if I begin blowing through the newer fancy-schmancy expensive ones. Time will tell.
All in all seems that the bypass surgery was a success - your results may vary. If you do choose to bypass the part, do yourself and your family a favor - use your brain and be careful. After all, I'm just some dude on the Internet and, as Richard Bach might say “Everything in this blog post may be wrong”.
Good luck!
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87 comments:
Thank you for your blog post. The Limitor ended up being the issue on my Hunter ceiling fan lights as well. I was considering just removing it from the loop, but wasn't sure if that'd be safe. After reading your blog, I was sufficiently satisfied that I'd be ok without it. Took it out of the circuit, and bam! Let there be light!
Now to see if I can return this replacement light kit that I already ordered from Hunter fans...
Thanks again!
@Andy D. : Glad the post helped out! Good luck with the return.
I had the same issue...took a few tries to narrow it down to this part. I am pretty sure they have to put something like this is to "protect" the people who won't follow instructions. More likely blame on idiots who put in high watt bulbs and lawyers who sue everyone. Either that or required for UL certification. There would be no good reason for a manufacturer to add cost for nothing.
I would not normally stick up for a company but in this case I would say they added it to protect us from ourselves! Thanks for the post!
Couldn't agree more! Could be UL cert related, could be legal. Still, bypassing a part that could be engineered in there for a very good reason is a dicey thing to do at best, be it in a ceiling fan, a car, or anything really. Best not to if you don't have to, in general.
Worked like a champ! The new regulations are killing reliability for everything. returned a new HE washer because the washer barely gets the clothes wet during the wash cycle
I just had the same problem with a Hunter ceiling fan and just shorted the leads to provide a path for the voltage. Most major appliances now have a similar part and most designs are such that they perform properly. However, I remember from my basic EE course that you can't change the current in an inductive circuit instantaneously and if you do open a switch or a bulb filament acts like a switch the voltage in the circuit doubles. I would not be surprised if a combination of the current flowing when the bulbs fail and the resulting voltage surge could blow this so called thermal fuse. Most common fuses have a specific current rating but fuses in 120v circuits are rated to at least 240v. In my opinion if you really wanted to protect fans in this way you would have to move this thermal fuse out of a path subject to both current and voltage surges. In a sense the bulb filaments act as current surge fuses and then you would just have to implement thermal protection in a different way.
I agree, and followed your advice. It works!!!! However, I'd like to replace the part and I haven't been able to find it. Any suggestions?
Sorry, no. The last time I looked was a while back and the usual places (Digikey, Allied, Newark) turned up nothing. I did not try to contact Limitor directly. Very good idea on wanting to go the replacement route versus the bypass route, btw. Good Luck with your search!
Glad to see I am not alone (not that misery loves company, but hey, this blog post would not otherwise exist and I would still be searching) and glad to see I have arrived at similar conclusions based upon troubleshooting efforts with this Hunter ceiling fan...all done with a 9V battery and the most basic low voltage continuity tester in existence (sorry but my infrequent battles with problematic electrical circuits have never warranted spending the bucks for a decent multi-meter). FYI, I posted a simple question (Where would I be able to find one of these?) via the *contact us* facility on the Limitor website and someone actually replied to indicate that they would send me one free of charge if I supplied my mailing address. They are in Germany, I am in the US...so time will tell if this actually happens but until then I also decided to wire around the limiter. BTW, has anyone called the Hunter Fan Co to request a replacement part?
I just removed the Y59 device entirely. Here's what happened so hopefully it will not only confirm what this very helpful blogger wrote but also add a little to the thoughts here. My fan was installed about a month ago. I installed 60W GE Reveal bulbs. Turns out they are pretty fragile and not specifically rated for ceiling fans (vibration + weak filament = easily blown). Turned the lights on one day and one of the bulbs blew and even shattered part of the glass where it attaches to the bulb base. Apparently the inrush current to the failed and temporarily shorted bulb filament was enough to fry the current limiter. They apparently do not reset themselves...open circuit with ohmmeter. Tried new bulbs, nothing. Found this blog and fixed the problem. Thanks !
So my addition to this is: Remove the little white current limiter completely. In my fan it had white and pink leads, very thin gauge wire. Then, connect the light fixture using the existing plug in terminals: White to White and Blue to Black. And there you have it, a normal ceiling fan with lights like it used to be.
Also I learned that you should use bulbs specifically rated for ceiling fan use.
I would like to use LED bulbs but I haven't found any that are dimmable enough, even with a dimmer specifically rated for LED. This is for a bedroom where it seems only an incadescent bulb will dim enough.
I contacted Hunter customer service and they offered to sell me the whole switch housing assembly for $45 and "free shipping". I said no thanks and just cut out the limiter. Like the others have said I think it will be fine as long as stick with the recommended wattage bulbs. Also Hunter customer service sucks.
Link to the 'Y' datasheet: http://www.limitor.com/limitorProject/datasheet/Y_englisch.pdf
However, it appears to say that if disconnected, cooled and re-installed it should work again. Not my experience, however. Like all of the above, I simply removed it. Mine had a pink lead connecting to the black w/white coming into the housing and a white led that connected to the black wire at the light switch. I removed the Limitor and leads and connected the black w/white directly to the black switch wire (nothing else was connected to either of these wires. Working like a champ.
BTW, mine blew when removing a dead bulb (cheap Chinese brand) and the glass came off of the base exposing the internal wires resulting in a short against the light socket housing. Next time I turn off the power before changing bulbs...
Awesome! Thanks for the link! It should help out a lot of DYI'rs out there.
Thanks for the tip! Similar to lots of folks searching the internet, just wanted to confirm my house isn't going to burn down if I bypass the switch.
You are welcome. Like I mentioned, bypassing a safety device is never a great idea. Proceed with care!
Thank you for this post! My daughter's Hunter fan had the same issue and I most likely wouldn't have gotten this fixed without your help. The limitor in my fan had two white leads. It's a tiny thing and was hard to find as it was hidden inside a group of wires with a zip tie around it. Once found and removed, the lights work A-Ok. I replaced the bulbs with the candelebra type LEDs and they light up without any flickering. I had also read that the Limitor can cause LEDs to flicker. The housing and bulbs are running cool as a cucumber.
@Dave Anderson: You are welcome! Thanks for the info on the LED bulbs!
The only thing that I see as a problem is the cutting of the small gauge wire and splicing it there. Your making a possible hot spot. If you look at it closer you should see the two wire nuts that connect the common wire to the fuse take the lite gauge wire out and just use one of the wire nut to connect the two heavier gauge wires together. This way you have a wire that can carry the load of the bulbs just like the rest of the lights in your house. None of my lights are heat protected at the fixture that's what the breaker box is for.
I took mine apart and figured out that it had to be this Current and Temperature Limiter part. I've replaced dozens of pull chains and knew it wasn't that. I found your post later. Thanks!
There was no sign of damage, melting or burning.
On my fan, the Current and Temperature Limiter had clip-on wire connectors connected to thin wires on each side of it. One side is male the other female and I simply pulled each of them apart with a pair of pliers on each side of the connector clips. Once removed, this left a male-female pair which I simply snapped together. This fixed the problem as I guessed it would.
Is this and important safety feature? I do not know. Or is it a planned obsolescence feature for the low IQ dummies out there who can’t fix anything? Is it another useless government regulation? http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EERE-2006-TP-0121-0003. Or perhaps it’s a method to force you to use less energy? If safety, then the manufacturer should provide replacement parts lest they be sued should fires result. That they are not selling the part shows they are not concerned. One might guess that it’s a Planned Obsolescence and "Safety"/"Efficiency" Issues collusion between business and .gov. This way companies get to sell more fans while .gov gets to pay more bureaucrats. Probably it’s just more inept Government interference in the free-market for the purpose providing “no-show”, “no exp nec” bozo-the-clown jobs.
salaries.
You and your blog post are my HERO!! I spent this morning doing much the same detective work you wrote about, and came to the same part as the culprit. I thought my only choices were either buy the switch assembly from Hunter, or get a new fan. I am SO glad I found your blog post. After reading your blog, and all of the comments from the other Hunter-ceiling-fan-sufferers, I'm going to try the bypass. Many thanks for taking the time to write about this, and helping the rest of us!
Glad this post helped! Remember to stay safe: not all ceiling fans are created equal!
Thank you everyone for your post. On going on my 3rd round of working w/ Hunter customer support on this topic. They originally replaced the light wiring harness, and after installing it, I called them back to let them know it didn't work and specifically inquired about the limitor (although i wasn't sure what it was at the time but it's in series w/ the main power to the light switch mounted on the bottom of the fan). They suggested replacing the light kit. It arrived today, without the limitor, and I installed it. To not surprise, it still doesn't work. I called their support staff again and the only option they offered was to replace the fan. The good news is it's under warranty so i'm going through the replacement process. After all this I found this blog and found it extremely helpful. I'm at a loss as to why Hunter wouldn't just send a replacement limitor rather than going through all the effort and cost to replace the harness, light assembly and now the fan?? Corporate America!! Crazy!
Wow!! I wish I had found this site 3 hours ago! After tracing back wire after wire and not finding any breaks responsible for interrupting conduction, I came across the limiter. I took it out of the loop and, whalla! I found the problem. I also took the opportunity to ditch the 40w candelabra base light sockets and upgraded to a double, standard base socket assembly. After further research, it seems, manufacturers are granted a tax reduction for forcing this garbage on consumers. Since there are no replacement limiters available, consumers are forced to replace the whole unit (fan and light assembly). Shame on Hunter Corporation for utilizing this strategy! Their name used to represent quality.
Builder used Hunter fans in our new home in April 2014. The other day when I turned on the light switch, both bulbs blew. We tried replacing with 2 different manufactured light bulbs but still did not work. But, fan still working. From 'Anonymous's' post FEB 2nd, obviously replacing the light kit won't work either. Resolution seems to be replacing with a new fan. Thank for your post. Doris O.
You are welcome! Good luck with your new fan.
Let me join the chorus. Troubleshooting led me to the Limitor T160. That little marvel led me here. My light is back on and I'm enjoying your blog. Life is good.
The explanation is correct, but the role of the temperature switch is not well explained. This Limitor T160 is a current fuse. It works on temperature. The current passing the T160 heats up a resistor. Too much current causes a bi-metal to flip. An ingenious system requires you to take the power off, before the component cools down. Explanation> www.limitor.com/limitorProject/datasheet/Y_englisch.pdf I think many bi-metals in the T160 fail (mine as well, in a kitchen mixer). Removing the T160 removes the protection against electrical overload. For that reason I replaced the T160 by a (in my case) 4 Ampere fuse. In case of the light I probably would dare to take the risk, but not for a kitchen device.
Thanks for the info! You are right about safety devices being there for a reason. Good idea with the fuse!
I have the same problem. But in my case when I remove the limiter and connect the wires directly, turning the light on at the wall cause the circuit breaker for the room to pop open. I only had one bulb in, out of three, for testing purposes, but this should not have mattered should it?
Yikes!!! It sounds like you have a more complicated issue than merely a misbehaving current switch, certainly outside of my limited personal experience with my particular ceiling fan. It is best that you contact a certified electrician rather than attempt to defeat a safety device!!
My hunter fan quit working after a power surge. The Bluetooth remote seems to be ok. Power seems to be ok. Is there a internal fuse inside the housing?
Thank you! Had the same issue and couldn't even find a replacement light kit. I've only had this for 3 years and didn't want to buy a new one. I had the pink and white wires and just removed them and worked like a charm. I did have one bulb burned out so that is probably what triggered it.
Thanks for the great article, after a few hours I tracked my Hunter fan light issue to the same little Y59. I'm going remove it and short the wires. I'm an EE and I suspect it is there to protect the pull chain swith. Too bad Hunter doesn't source this part and forces people to buy the $40 assembly.
Great article. Discovered same problem on my Hunter fan as well. Much easier to bypass thermal limiter on this model, as it has plug in connectors. I'm not worried at all as long as the wife keeps the fire insurance paid up!
Thanks! Stay safe!
Like too many other people, I too have a Hunter fan with a blown Limitor. In my case, the lights were on while not using the fan. All of a sudden there was a POP and all 3 light bulbs went out. On inspection, one of the bulbs had a hole burned in the side of the screw base (candelabra size). Apparently the lead wires going into the glass bulb shorted, inside the screw base. Not the first time I have seen this, either, but it is rare. Not a name brand bulb, it was labeled "KT 120V60W". Maybe I should stick with GE bulbs in the future. As an electronics engineer, I agree the limitor was there for a reason, I will replace it with a fuse. Hunter is doing us and themselves a disservice by not providing reasonably priced replacement parts. It is only a matter of time before somebody's house burns down because a Limitor was bypassed; I doubt the true culprit will be found after a fire.
Thank you for your excellent article!
Excellent points! It's never a good idea to bypass safety devices. Good idea about the fuse. Stay safe!
I just went through the same set of troubleshooting steps. Your article is the first result from a Google search for "y59 b 120c". You just saved me a ton of trouble trying to figure out what that thing is.
Just like Drew said, I spent about an hour trouble shooting wires, switches, and finally took the fan apart. Traced it down to the Limitor - thanks for posting this to confirm my findings!
No problem! Stay safe!
Same thing happened to me except my fan was brand new and the light never worked. Hunter customer service was terrible. They had me go through trouble-shooting steps which I had done several times before calling them. They sent me the light component, which doesn't have the thermal/current limiting switch. Of course that didn't fix the problem. Eventually I was able to determine the circuit was broken at this component. When I searched for "Y59 B 120C" I found this post. Bypassing the switch worked. Since mine is still in warranty I plan to call and have them send me the entire wiring harness for the lights. Thanks for the post.
Like almost everyone else on this thread, I had the same problem of no light but a working fan. In my case, the wattage limiter said Y59 R 130C, but it's in the same position. I had already bought a hunter light fixture with 4 of the older and wider style bulb sockets, which I didn't return. It would allow me to use CFLs or LEDs which I couldn't get with a bayonet. I saw another post in another thread that told me that the wattage limit to the light fixture shouldn't total more than 190 watts. Ohm's law for power dictates that I will be able to get the same current limitation with a 1.5 amp fuse unless I move the ceiling fan to another country running a different standard than good old USA 120 volts. 120 X 1.5 = 180. And heck, if I run the equivalent of 4 60 watt CFLs, I'll only be using about 36 watts in the light fixture. So a 1A fuse ought to last forever. Bought an inline fuse holder and a pack of 5 1A fuses at radio shack for less that $5. I set that in line with the pink wire. It works like a charm. And the wife is happy that there is more protection on this circuit than it had when I used the fixture with incandescents.
Same issue here. After tracking down the problem with an ohm meter I decided to google the part and your post was the first to come up. Thanks for the post.
Maybe I can add a new wrinkle. We have two old Casablanca fans in our living room and dining room. I mean old like when we bought them, Casablanca fans still came from California. Last month we retrofitted new light fixtures on both fans, Casablanca 99075 with 99082 frosted glass globe. Everything was cool until about a week ago when the light on one fan just went off. After a while, it came back on. We were baffled. My wife kept a journal to watch the pattern. We established that the light stayed on for 22 minutes, then went off for 12 minutes, then came back on. It only happened on one of the fans. Also, we removed the glass globe on the offending fixture, it stayed on without interruption. That suggested a heat dissipation issue. After staring for awhile at the working and non-woking fixtures, I noticed that there was this little part in one of the vent holes in the interior of the housing. I took the whole works apart and just physically rearranged the wires and the Limit of so that the Limit of was no longer rights next to the candelabra bulb. So far it works fine.
Very very interesting! Nice troubleshooting!
Same problem. Trouble shooting led to bad limitor in 4yr old Hunter light kit. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for this post. I had an electrician look at a 2 yr old hunter ceiling fan after hearing a loud pop when I turned on the light, and both lights wouldn't work. I paid the electrician $100 for no help- he just told me the light fixture was bad and to get a new light kit from Hunter which I did. The light kit didn't work. My brother looked at the wiring "for free of course" and said it was this thermal fuse. He bypassed it and the lights worked, but I;d like to replace the fuse to be safe. thanks
Thank you for the helpful insight. I've been troubleshooting this for too many hours already.
tl;dr - The T160s are available for $.50 each from allelectronics.com. Of course there's an $8 shipping but it's still cheaper than a fan - or light kit. I ordered four (only need one). So if anybody needs one, let me know and it's yours for $2.50 + first class postage.
W. Patterson - I'm curious as to how you made this work.
when I go to allelectronics the T160 that I find says normally open. That is the problem I am having now. The unit is open. It is only when I bypass it (short it out) that the lights work.
"Limitor #T160. Contacts close when temperature rises to 100°C / 212°F."
Thanks in advance for clarification.
@Larry Lokey - Thinking of what you said and I pulled out my handy multimeter today and get nothing when I connect the ends. This suggests, as you did, that this is the opposite of what I - and others - need. It should be closed until it gets 100 c, not the other way around.
Back to the drawing board, I guess, to see what I can find.
Another one that his this, just removed the pink wires all together and light works great.
this fixed my hunter fan light--you were spot on with the write up.
thanks!
Do you still have these? Any way I could get two of them from you?
When I searched T160, it only shows a"normally open" switch rated at 100C. Any suggestions on part # or name?
Huh...My Y59 R had connectors so no snipping and wiring required...just connected the two hot wires together.
It is my understanding that the 190 watt light limiter was something that the government decided to impose on the ceiling fan industry for energy conservation, whereby any light kits either have to have the light limitor, or the light kit would need to include energy efficient bulbs (CFL or LED). The 190 watt light limiter simply cuts power to the light if one tries to put higher wattage bulbs in the fixture. Unfortunately, most of these light limiters are not made with quality or longevity in mind. So, it's just a cheap component from China that seems to fail often. Removing (by-passing) it (and provided you don't exceed the limits of the sockets or wires) you shouldn't have any negative effects on the function or safety of the light kit or fan.
Hunter fan owner, after some basic troubleshooting with a multimeter I found this little white Y59 thing to not be passing voltage. Took it apart and noticed it was some type of fuse. I did a google search and this was the first site that came up. Great read, long, good humour, but great for everyone. After some reading, not planning to replace the fuse, just wire it together like everyone else. The circuit breaker will do its job if it ever decides to draw 20 amps, as it did when this problem originally started. Thanks for all off everyones input!!!
Also wanted to add that Hunter was nice enough to have male and female connector ends on the light blue wire and black wire that goes to the switch so after pulling out the Y59 fuse, all I had to do was plug each end that was remaining into each other and it was good to go! No splicing, wire nut or solder-less crimp needed! I hope others are just as easy. Kampai (CHEERS!) from Okinawa!!
I'll take one of your spare t160 part. PayPal ok? Hugh
Same way on my fan. Ordered new light kit and didn't solve the problem. Took out the limiter and all is good.
Talk about over engineering. Took it out and all is well.
So it's July 2018 and I just installed a brand new Hunter fan (Model 53159) from Lowes today. I was replacing an old fan unit that stopped working. Hooked up the new fan and it worked after installing the light kit. Then I connected up the lighting and...nothing.
I did the same sleuthing everyone else did and also figured out that it was the Limitor device. I found this blog and bypassed the device by simply cutting out the Limitor and using an existing wire nut and wire to the lamps. It now works great.
I switched to an LED candelabra-base lamp. 4.5W x 2 = 9W versus 60x2 = 120W. More than a factor of ten less power so I am not worried about the heating issue. The LED lamps are the filament style and essentially are many LEDs in series so there are no other electronics in the loop.
Thanks to everyone who found the EPACT Legislation that mandated this current limiter. There may be a valid reason, but the implementation is poor and will likely cause more problems than it solves. If you search for Hunter in there you will fund some interesting comments.
I have same issue with my Hunter ceiling fan Model #51029, fan works but lights do not come on. I replaced the chain light switch, removed the T160 (Y59), and tried to bypass it, but still no lights!!!
What could be the problem? Anybody out there have an answer to this issue???
Replaced the pull chain switch on my Hunter ceiling fan when the light quit working to no avail. Then opened it up to find this limiter switch in series with the light so took it out, spliced the wires together and TADA- behold there was light and it was good. When I searched the part for a replacement your blog came up. Looks like I may be simply sticking with the bypass. Appreciate the thread!
Thanks for posting this. I would have never found the issue. In fact, I'd be saying bad words as I drove to HD for a new fan!
Where can I buy a replacement
Looks like Hunter posted a FAQ response on their site in Dec 2018:
WHY CAN’T I PURCHASE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS LIKE CAPACITORS, WATTAGE LIMITERS, AND SWITCHES TO REPAIR MY FAN?
"Because we advise against homeowners wiring parts inside the fan, we provide the entire switch housings or a kit of electrical components (called a wiring harness). This approach allows us to you to install new electrical components with a simple plug type connection."
from https://support.hunterfan.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001407634-Why-can-t-I-purchase-electrical-components-like-capacitors-wattage-limiters-and-switches-to-repair-my-fan-
exact same scenario. looked up the part number after deciding it was going to be removed and found your good commen sense post thanks.
Wow, this was perfect. Searched internet by Y59 B 120C and this blog came up. Started reading the oldest first and I had to laugh....I did almost the exact same things, changed bulbs, checked switch, checked to see power, came across this little Limitor hooked up and said what the heck is that! Bypassed as suggested and bam! Light is working again....thanks for the great info!
Thanks for this blog. I limited it down to this limitor but then found this blog when looking for a replacement. I am going to call Hunter tomorrow and see if I can get a new limitoe for free.
Thanks. The limiter was my issue as well. It slides out of it housing and I could see the back burned spot. Spliced the two together with a wire nut and the lights work��
I was on the phone with the lady who wanted to troubleshoot my light I told her about the part and then it doesn't show up on their picture on their website and all she knew how to do was read her list of things to ask you I don't think she knows anything about electrical stuff whatsoever but I ended up ordering the lot the new light harness for $29.39 I also cannot find this part anywhere on the internet
Bingo! Thanks for the great write-up. My Hunter ceiling fan did the same thing with the bulbs going PLUNK and then fresh ones wouldn't work. Took it apart and found the Y59 B 120C part with much smaller wires. Mine was hard-wired, so I just reused one of the wire nuts and put the two main wires together without the faulty limiter. Ta-dah! The lights now work.
I did email Hunter (social@help.hunterfan.com) and asked if they could send a replacement part. I figure it can't hurt to ask! Since I can't find this part on the Internet, though, I plan to leave it as is (without the limiter) if Hunter can't help.
Same problem. Bypassed it, and lights now work correctly. Cannot believe they do not have the part available to us. Bad on Hunter Fans.
That's my only fear. The insurance company claiming they won't pay because of my involvement if known. I don't want any problems with fire or insurance or the Big Brother Law makers. But this post is exactly on point. I too wish I had found it before replacing the pull cord switch. Be safe Everyone.
Thanks for the post. I had not one, but two identical Hunter fans purchased from Home Depot and installed four months ago. The lights stopped working on one and then the other while the fans continued operating flawlessly. Found a video that identified the part and google led me to this blog while researching the part. Like others, I chose to remove and bypass the limiter. The lights work great. Thanks again for the easy to follow information.
I think I have the same issue...but my lights do come on...but after about 20-30 seconds they go off....I can turn the fan off...and back on...the lights come back on ...the go out again...not comfortable about 'bypassing'...might just get a new fan
Hi, I had the same problem with Hunter fan in México. I can´t find the Y59. Their comments are valuable. The option add a common fuse I think is good to safe.
Haha I found this blog after spending 3 hours and $36 on a replacement light kit from Hunter. Cut out the bad switch and voila, let there be light. Agree with all the other posters that just exercise caution on bulb selection and use recommended or lower wattage bulbs
I had the same problem, Thank you all your comments, I took away and bypass the Y59 and used three 60 watt LED light bulbs ,minimum heat exposed the the old regular light bulbs, took me 20 min. to do it thanks to all your comments ;lights are working great now!!!! Luis
Cheers! Exactly the fix I needed
Glad to find this blog post. I spent way too much time checking 2-way light circuit switches and flipping breaker on/off.
My Hunter fan/light repair was easy with male female plugs, see pic. Remove and plug ends together, fixed.
Thanks for posting this info!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7XYcJAJBhWKT1bZa8
I just had the current limiter go bad in my fan, and checking the amp rating on the pull switch shows it is only good for 6 amps. That is why the current limiter is installed, to protect the switch from overamping and causing a switch failure or a potential fire. It is best to replace the current limiter rather than bypassing it. If bypassed, the pull switch and light socket assembly should be replaced to a 15 amp capacity.
2020 and just found this blog post. Thank you, this fixed a problem I was having trouble shooting.
When I removed the limiter switch the terminals that were left fit together perfectly almost like the fan may be sold without the switch in a country that didn't require it. Thanks for the post!
Would using LED bulbs make your bypass trick less risky?
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