# Fan Light Capacitor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765 "2023-08-18T17:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/1 "2023-08-18T17:00:54Z")
Original Fan capacitor E183963 Yel-5u/250v, Pur-5u/250, Gray-4.5/280 New E215893 Gray-4.8/250, Pur-6/250 Yel-8/250 The gray and yellow are reversed from the original Can i use the new one? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/2 "2023-08-18T17:05:41Z")
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board. I moved your thread to IMHO as it is the best forum for getting opinions on electric & electronic repairs. ---
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/3 "2023-08-18T17:24:06Z")
Thanks but what is imho ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/4 "2023-08-18T17:25:11Z")
Sorry, IMHO = [In My Humble Opinion](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14) forum or Category. You were in #Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports. Is the fan a Harbor Breeze or New Tech? Amazon is saying model CBB61 matches E183963. They’re $7.99 I wouldn’t mess with a capacitor with the wrong rating. But I might be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/5 "2023-08-18T18:19:00Z")
I don’t know fan manufacturer ---
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/6 "2023-08-18T18:35:45Z")
Is the capacitor only for the fan? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/7 "2023-08-19T19:53:21Z")
This is closer to your original: > **[uxcell Ceiling Fan Capacitor CBB61 4.5/5/5uF 350V AC 4 Wires Metallized...](https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Capacitor-Metallized-Polypropylene-58x44x26mm/dp/B094FB28T5)** > > uxcell Ceiling Fan Capacitor CBB61 4.5/5/5uF 350V AC 4 Wires Metallized Polypropylene Film Capacitor 58x44x26mm for Electric Fan Pump Motor Generator: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific It has the same size capacitors internally (4.5 uF, 5 uF, 5 uF). Note that the wire colors are different. The voltage rating is higher, which doesn’t hurt anything. You want the same size capacitance, and equal or higher voltage. There are a lot of 4.5/5/5 uF capacitors on Amazon but the 4.5 is usually only rated for 250V, where your original is 280V. You need 280V or higher off of the 4.5 uF capacitor. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/8 "2023-08-20T14:59:02Z")
> [@Vito](#): > > Is the capacitor only for the fan? It should be. The light wouldn’t need or benefit from a capacitor. The motor would use the capacitor to create an artificial second phase so that it tries to rotate in one direction when the alternating current circulates through its coils. Without the capacitor everything acts symmetrically on the rotor and doesn’t encourage rotation to start (you’d have to spin the fan a little by hand to get it to run). The capacitor could be connected during starting (“capacitor start”) or all the time when running (“capacitor run”). For things that don’t require much torque to get them to turn at all, such as fans, it’s almost always capacitor run. ---
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/9 "2023-09-03T04:06:01Z")
Thank you… My fan light is intermittently flashing. In my research I saw something about the limiter but the only thing in the fixture housing was the capacitor but now I understand that the capacitor is only for the fan which is operating fine. Where else would they place the limiter? Is it possible that my fan doesn’t have one? I’m using dimmable leds. The dimmer is LED compatible. This happened once before and I changed the dimmer. It’s not flashing, it’s more like when I raise the dimmer to its highest position the bulbs are half lit and if I move it slightly it will get full brightness. I made a video but its to big to send I’m thinking it’s the dimmer. Vito ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/10 "2023-09-03T12:44:56Z")
> [@Vito](#): > > I’m thinking it’s the dimmer. Yep. If you are certain the LEDs in the fan are dimmable, either the dimmer isn’t made for LEDs or there is some incompatibility between your particular dimmer and the LEDs in the fan. There are different types of LED dimming. Make sure your LEDs are compatible with the method that your dimmer uses. ---
**Author:** ![Vito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ba8739/32.png) [@Vito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vito)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2023, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fan-light-capacitor/988765/11 "2023-09-03T14:07:53Z")
Thank you for your response… The leds are dimmable and the dimmer is led compatible. I’ll swap out the dimmer combo and use a fan dimmer and install a switch for the light. Vito