It purrs, real quietly, as long as the light is on. I have tried taking the lights out, it makes noise. I unscrewed the light, the fan started making noise the moment the light went out. I wish it did not rattle with the lights off.
Are you saying that it rattles when the (incandescent?) lights are unscrewed and removed, and you want to run it without the lights? Use burned-out bulbs.
…this is another Moebius sig…b!s sn!qaoW jay+oue s! s!y+…
(adaptation of a WallyM7Sig™ a la quadell)
For business reasons, I must preserve the outward signs of sanity. - Mark Twain
It also rattles when they are screwed in, but turned off also. Good idea though, I’ll give it a shot.
On the hmmmm level, why does it do it?
It’s posessed. Take it down and dismantle it immediately, pack it it seperate boxes, and take it to the local church for an exorcism. Failure to do so will haunt you when it detaches from the celing some night and the police find you in little pieces all over the bedroom floor.
You have been warned.
– Sylence
I don’t have an evil side. Just a really, really apathetic one.
<<<It’s posessed. Take it down and dismantle it immediately, pack it it seperate boxes, >>>
funny, Sylence!
cooldude, this is just WAG, but it could be that the lights are heating up the fan and it is running smoother because of it, once the lights go off, the fan cools, and it isn’t operating evenly anymore.
Try this; if you have a penny, or a small magnet, something that doesn’t weigh much, put it on one of your lower blades. Double sided tape if you have any, or roll up a piece of regular tape, sticky side out.
I’ve had to do that with a few of my older ceiling fans. After awhile, the vibration seems to grow and it takes more weight to keep the blades even. I once had pennies on every blade in the fan downstairs in the den. Then I got tired of raiding my penny bank, and bought and installed another fan!
Good luck,
Judy
“I never saw so many words compressed into so small an idea.” Abraham Lincoln
Truly a WAG on the cause of the noise here – but due to the weight and vibration, ceiling fans require a different kind of electrical box than normal light fixtures. Most people don’t know this, and simply take down the light from the ceiling and hang the fan in its place. It could be that you have the wrong mounting, and the heat from the lights is expanding the metal in the junction box just enough to hold things tight. Turn off the lights, the metal cools, and the whole mess starts to rattle.
Call an electrician.
Dr. Watson
Here’s a WAG for ya…
Is your fan on a dimmer? Like a variable speed control on the wall?
If so, most fans will want to have a capicitance controlled unit for the speed, not your typical resistance controlled models.
So, your lights might be acting as a buffer, and filtering out the motor noise when they’re on.
Just a WAG…
My ceiling fans rattled last summer. Drove me so crazy I finally got off my ass, found a screwdriver, and tightened the screws holding them to the ceiling. The rattle stopped immediately.