Harbor Breeze

Harbor breeze ceiling fan troubleshooting guide

harbor breeze ceiling fan troubleshooting

Harbor Breeze is a famous and trusted brand when you look into ceiling fans. Whether you want a quiet ceiling fan for your bedroom or looking for a ceiling fan for your living room, this brand is replete with desirable options for you.

However, there are some issues you may experience while using a ceiling fan like any other brand. If your Harbor Breeze ceiling fan is not working or troubling you, this Harbor breeze ceiling fan troubleshooting guide will be helpful.

We have discussed how to identify and fix a number of ceiling fan issues. We also recommend proper maintenance of your ceiling fan. Some of the fixes need disassembling of the fan, and the rest of the fixes don’t.

Precautions when handling a ceiling fan

We do not recommend opening up your fan, especially if your ceiling fan has a warranty or your have no or little technical knowledge. However, if it is imperative to disassemble your ceiling fan or any of its accessories, it is important to keep these precautions in mind.

  • Turn off the power: Firstly, you need to make sure that you have turned off the power both at the switch and the circuit breaker to avoid injury.
  • Be careful with the fan blades: Secondly, you need to be careful while handling blades because the blades can have sharp edges. That is why make slow movements while touching them in order to avoid cuts on your hands.

Harbor Breeze ceiling fan problems and solutions

A number of issues can occur and result in complete halt of the fan functionality. Here is the list of common problems of Harbor Breeze ceiling fan and their solutions:

1. Harbor Breeze fan remote is not working

A ceiling fan remote is one of the basic accessories that can be connected to a ceiling fan. That is why if your harbor breeze remote is not working, it is a common issue.

If your ceiling fan remote is not functioning properly you may need to follow these steps to find out the cause of the problem.

  1. Firstly, you should check if the batteries in the remote may need replacement even if you changed them as early as a week ago. After doing so, ensure that the lid at the back of the remote is firmly sealed after changing the old batteries.
  2. Secondly, turn off the fan. If there was a power surge, the memory could have been wiped clean. Re-sync the remote to its receiver by turning on the fan after 30 seconds and then press the learn button at the back of the remote.
  3. Lastly, get a new remote. You can find the best Harbor Breeze replacement remotes here

2. Harbor Breeze Ceiling fan remote light stays on

Is your Harbor Breeze remote light staying on despite you are not pressing any buttons? Try some of these solutions to fix it:

  1. Firstly, check if there are any pressed down buttons on your remote control and press them again to loosen them and the light to go off.
  2. Open the remote compartment to access the rubber buttons. Clean them with the help of alcohol as it dries faster to unclog any dirt. Reassemble the remote to find out if the buttons have become loose and that the light is off.

3. How to program a Harbor Breeze remote

If the remote is having frequency problems, then you can do Harbor breeze remote programming to allow synchronization and make the communication of the fan receiver effective even if it has no reset button.

Here are the simple steps you need to follow to program a Harbor Breeze remote:

  • Firstly, turn off the electricity from the main panel and now turn the switch to ‘Off’ that controls the fan in the service panel
  • Open the remote compartment on the back and remove the battery to access the DIP switches
  • Now check if the DIP switch configuration is similar to one in the receiver unit of fan. They must be similar for the ceiling fan to work. Make a new configuration that matches the DIP switches of fan if needed
  • Put back the battery as well as the compartment and turn ‘On’ the switch breaker
  • Now, press the High, Medium and Low buttons in quick succession and in less than 20 seconds to sync it to the fan (ensure to check the manual on the correct sequence of buttons you should press)

If the ceiling fan has a light kit, press the on and off light buttons to sync them too.

4. Harbor Breeze light kit not working

Are your Harbor Breeze light kits not working? If the ceiling fan is working but the lights not, here are some recommendations to find the main cause of the malfunctioning:

  1. Firstly, check if the bulbs need replacement. After changing the bulbs that may have burned out, fasten them firmly and turn on the power.
  2. Check if the bulbs have any burn marks that indicate a short in the wires. Replace the wiring of the light kit to make it work again.
  3. The wires connecting the light kit to the housing wiring could be loose, therefore, secure them firmly by using more wire nuts.

5. Harbor Breeze fan stopped working

Is your Harbor Breeze ceiling fan stopped working suddenly? Here are the possible reasons for this issue:

  1. The power connection could be off because of a tripped circuit breaker. You will have to open your power panel in order to reset the breaker.
  2. Check all the wirings and connections to ensure they are firmly installed and aligned accordingly.
  3. Check if the DIP switches are not receiving nor transmitting remote commands. To solve this issue, you will have to reset the DIP switches.

6. How to reset the DIP switches in a Harbor Breeze fan

  • First of all, turn off the power at the main switch and turn the fan switch to ‘Off’
  • Open the back compartment of the remote control, expel the battery and memorize the DIP Switches settings on it. (It means which switches are reading ‘On’ and ‘Off’)
  • Stand on a firm ladder, unscrew the light kit by moving the shade anticlockwise
  • Find the receiver box and remove the cover to access the DIP switches
  • Make the changes to match the configuration of the remote
  • Close the receiver of the fan and screw back the light kit firmly into place

Once off the ladder, turn on the power at the main switch and the ceiling fan switch back to ‘On’. Test the remote to ensure whether the settings are correct or not.

dip switches
Dip Switches

7. Harbor Breeze Ceiling fan light turns off by itself

If your Harbor Breeze ceiling fan works but no light as it turns off randomly by itself, then these are the possible reasons:

  1. Check and make sure the wiring and connections are in place and make the necessary adjustments to hold them firmly in place.
  2. Check the circuit breaker to ensure it is not affected by power surges and reset it in the main power panel.
  3. If your ceiling fan comes with an overheating detector, then it would have turned off as a result of too much wattage. You need to locate a bulb that accommodates the preset power wattage.

8. Harbor Breeze Ceiling fan won’t turn off with wall switch

Harbor breeze fans may keep running even after you have pressed the wall switch to turn it off. Firstly, you need to turn off the power at the main house source to turn off the ceiling fan before searching for the issue. Here are the possible causes:

  1. It is because of extensive flipping, an open circuit can occur causing a failed switch. By opening the inner wiring of the switch, you can check for continuity with the help of a multimeter and if needed, you have to replace the switch.
  2. Loose switch wiring. Open the switch cover and get access to the inner wiring. Check if there is any loose wiring, especially the terminal screws that hold the black wires. Ensure the black wires are wrapped correctly and tightly around the screws. Change the switch cover, turn on the power and now test it.

9. Harbor Breeze Ceiling fan won’t spin

If the ceiling fan of Harbor Breeze won’t spin then here are some steps you can follow to fix the issue:

  1. Check for a blown motor capacitor because of overheating or age. Open the motor house, you will come across a small black box connected to the pull cord that is visibly either melted or burnt. To solve the problem, replace the Harbor Breeze capacitor.
  2. Power malfunction. Use a multimeter to check for power continuity to ensure there is enough power for the fan to function fully. Make sure to find a replacement with similar electrical requirements as the former.
  3. Frozen bearings in the motor can hamper the movement of the fan. For the ideal results, change the entire fan rather than the bearings alone.

10. Harbor Breeze ceiling fan won’t reverse

If your Harbor Breeze ceiling fan won’t reverse, you need to solve the issue following these steps to find out the main cause of the issue:

  1. If you perform the reverse action with a remote control or a wall switch, check whether the DIP switches are in sync with the fan receiver or not.
  2. The reverse switch could be damaged because of the age if your fan is also too old. Change the reverse switch for an easy fix. You can also replace your ceiling fan remote.
  3. Check to find out if the reverse switch is in the neutral position by flipping it a number of times to ensure it is in the right direction.

You should now be able to reverse the direction of your ceiling fan to allow warm air circulation for the winter season.

Final Words

A Harbor Breeze ceiling fan is an important appliance for any home that helps you to go through different weathers successfully. With this helpful guide on Harbor Breeze ceiling fan troubleshooting, you can now fix the issues that may occur. The fixes of the problems we listed here are easy and fast to complete. Your fan will be fixed and start rotating and you will be able to enjoy the breeze within no time.

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2 Comments

  • What do you do when your Harbor Breeze fan starts off blowing cool air right when it starts up, but after a while it stops blowing any air at all? The motor is running fine as the blades are spinning at a good speed.

  • The blades of our harbor breeze ceiling fan blades rub against the glass. This is an older harbor breeze ceiling fan. How do I balance the blades.

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