Ceiling fan noise

[fergo27]

I have a 2005 Winnebago Journey with a ceiling fan in the bedroom. I've done my best to try and balance the blades, using the supplied weights, but I still have some noise. With the fan off, by moving the blades in an upward and downward motion, there seems to be quite a bit of play. I took the main nut at the bottom of the fan off. There's a spring washer underneath that nut. Don't know if moving the washer would take up any of the slack. Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[FIRE UP]

fergo27,
Well, this is interesting because on the newly purchased Itasca Horizon 36GD, we also have a ceiling fan noise. It's like the motor's worn out and loose. I haven't had a chance to really diagnose the issue just yet. Still learning the coach and other new stuff. Eventually I'll get to it and see what's up with it.
Scott

[Sammie]

If it makes you guys feel any better (probably won't) my ceiling fan has made an occasional tick, tick ,tick noise since I bought the coach new in 2006. I got tired of it and ordered a new fan from Winnebago and guess what? Same noise! Then I disassembled the old fan motor and found that the cheap a$$ motors made in china are just poorly constructed and have alot of play in the bearings. There is no way that I know of to fix it.

Sorry,
Sammie

[Conquest102]

You can hold a ruler up to the ceiling and rotate each blade next to the ruler to check if they are at the same level it might help a little.

[Perry White]

You can't quite down a $25 ceiling fan. Put in a casa blanca or other higher quality fan.

[Sammie]

Originally Posted by Perry White

You can't quite down a $25 ceiling fan. Put in a casa blanca or other higher quality fan.

Perry, these fans are 12 volt only. Please tell me where I can buy a 12 volt Casa Blanca?

Sammie

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Sammie

Perry, these fans are 12 volt only. Please tell me where I can buy a 12 volt Casa Blanca?

Sammie

Since we just got the coach, I was fairly sure they were 12v. But, I hadn't had time to research it just yet.
Scott

[fergo27]

Thanks to all who responded. I bit the bullet and purchased a new one from Winnebago. Supposed to be a newer and better one than was in my 2005 rig. I've yet to receive it (special order) but when I do I'll let you know if it's any better. They get you commin' and goin'!!

[CWHTRAINS]

Please let us know if the new model works silently. I have had the same noise in mine since I purchased the motorhome in 2006. I tried replacing the motor, but it made no difference.

[YC1]

If it is going tic tic tic that is a common issue. The rubber washers from the factory were often pitched. I am going to try to post some info but my connection is not great. After doing as suggested with a ruler to set all the blades at the same level I took mine apart and tightened all the screws and hardware. It has not ticked for several months now.

I can't get the picture to upload but here is a web page. Contact them about the hardware if tightening things does not work.

www.trusty-products.com

[YC1]

Originally Posted by YC1

If it is going tic tic tic that is a common issue. The rubber washers from the factory were often pitched. I am going to try to post some info but my connection is not great. After doing as suggested with a ruler to set all the blades at the same level I took mine apart and tightened all the screws and hardware. It has not ticked for several months now.

I can't get the picture to upload but here is a web page. Contact them about the hardware if tightening things does not work.

www.trusty-products.com

Well I spoke to soon. Last week it did the tic tic again. It is inconsistent. I tried to tighten all screws but they were secure from my last go around. So I broke down and took the motor apart and installed new bearings. Not a difficult job and the bearings cost $20 total. You have to be very careful because it would be easy to destroy it. I took pictures of the repair. No sense in posting them until I am sure that fixes it. At least I will know if it goes tic tic again soon it is not the bearings.

[FIRE UP]

YCI,
This is interesting. Since we've only owned the big girl for about 3 weeks so far, it's on the list to analyze that fan and see what the cause of the tic tic and maybe other noises are coming from it. But, if your install of some new bearings seems to do the trick, well Sir, then it's bearing time for ours too. Keep us informed will ya? Thanks
Scott

[YC1]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

YCI,
This is interesting. Since we've only owned the big girl for about 3 weeks so far, it's on the list to analyze that fan and see what the cause of the tic tic and maybe other noises are coming from it. But, if your install of some new bearings seems to do the trick, well Sir, then it's bearing time for ours too. Keep us informed will ya? Thanks
Scott

To keep it simple and as a test take the fan off and tighten all the blade screws on top and bottom. Then try it again. If that does not help then take the blade off again and remove the housing via three screws. Then tighten the three motor mount screws and put it back together and try again. Hopefully with some input like that we can come up with the ultimate fix. I love our fan. It moves a lot of air and when working correctly is very quiet. If changing the bearings does not solve the issue then it might be a mattery of using some plumbers goop to secure the fan blades to the metal arms. They might be the culprit. The motor is very quiet and as an ET seems to be very well built. Keep in touch and please provide feedback. This is such a common issue that really needs a solution.

[DAN L]

In june 2007, i installed a chinese made 12v ceiling fan from backwoods solar in my bedroom. from the gitgo, it made annoying ticking noises. i rechecked all screws, etc. for tightness.
i noticed that if i reversed the fan direction, the noise would go away for a several hours. when it eventually started ticking again, reversing it would stop the ticking for several hours. it runs longer in each direction now without ticking.
i posted in 2007 that my theory is that the dc motor brushes take a set. being loose in their holders, the brushes catch on the motors commutator. reversing the motors direction helps the brushes to wear even and not make noise.
my fan motor is sealed so i cannot test this theory or replace the bearings.

[YC1]

Originally Posted by DAN L

In june 2007, i installed a chinese made 12v ceiling fan from backwoods solar in my bedroom. from the gitgo, it made annoying ticking noises. i rechecked all screws, etc. for tightness.
i noticed that if i reversed the fan direction, the noise would go away for a several hours. when it eventually started ticking again, reversing it would stop the ticking for several hours. it runs longer in each direction now without ticking.
i posted in 2007 that my theory is that the dc motor brushes take a set. being loose in their holders, the brushes catch on the motors commutator. reversing the motors direction helps the brushes to wear even and not make noise.
my fan motor is sealed so i cannot test this theory or replace the bearings.

My fan motor too was "sealed". Not for long though. Prying out the crimps I was able to take it apart and replaced the bearings. At least that won't be the tic tic anymore. The brushes looked great and the motor is actually well built on mine. The magnets were very strong and it took a strong arm to pull the armature out.

I am still not convinced it is not the fan blades. If it starts doing it again I may remove two opposing blades to see if it still ticks. There are a lot of screws in each blade and just one loose might cause it to tic. If that is the case some Plumbers Goop will solve that issue.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by DAN L

In june 2007, i installed a chinese made 12v ceiling fan from backwoods solar in my bedroom. from the gitgo, it made annoying ticking noises. i rechecked all screws, etc. for tightness.
i noticed that if i reversed the fan direction, the noise would go away for a several hours. when it eventually started ticking again, reversing it would stop the ticking for several hours. it runs longer in each direction now without ticking.
i posted in 2007 that my theory is that the dc motor brushes take a set. being loose in their holders, the brushes catch on the motors commutator. reversing the motors direction helps the brushes to wear even and not make noise.
my fan motor is sealed so i cannot test this theory or replace the bearings.

DAN L,
That's pretty good analyzation. If so, sometimes modern man amazes me. Here we are in the year 2011 and, ceiling fans for residential use have been made for what, 50-75 years plus or minus, and about 99.999999% of those are quiet as could be. But, here comes some prominent RV builders and they can't seem to be able to build a simple 12V ceiling fan without it making some noise. Hmmmmm. I mean, how hard can it be to take and buy a ceiling fan from your local Home Depot, take it back to the factory, take it apart, see how it works and what makes it nice, the build your own, identical only 12VOLT!!!

Now, as usual, American companies send a ton of their stuff over seas to be manufactured there so, it comes back to us as a tic tic tic. I hate to be sarcastic here but, really, it's a motor, a housing, some fan blades and a mount. We, like many of you, have a few in the house, some are "plus 20 years old) and except for the air making noise, you cannot hear the fan motor at all. Someday soon, I'll get a chance to take ours down and check it out like many of you have done. Maybe tighten some screws etc. Thanks for your input.
Scott

[YC1]

Well, after taking the fan off a half dozen times. Replacing the bearing with good quality ones, letting the thing run in reverse for a day, and trying every other suggestion my fan just would no longer calm down.

From previous posts it seems the new fans develop the same noise. However my friends, now may be the time to change. I ordered a replacement from RV upgrades. The motor mount is exactly the same. However the motor housing has distinct improvements. The bearings are held differently and the motor is held closed with nuts and bolts instead of crimps. The new one came with a four speed controller and reverser. As an ET I found there were not enough wires and now simple way to add them to make the new controller work. However the old one works fine with two speed versus four. I intended to use the old blades and outside housing because of the color anway. The old one has a reverse switch on it so lost no functions at all. As I type the new one is running at high speed and is very quiet.

[toneumanns]

Ours ticked from day one. Had the motor replaced under warranty & so far no ticks. I also think the fan is close to worthless as it doesn't move much air.

[YC1]

Originally Posted by toneumanns

Ours ticked from day one. Had the motor replaced under warranty & so far no ticks. I also think the fan is close to worthless as it doesn't move much air.

Mine moves a lot of air. Have you reversed it?

[toneumanns]

Originally Posted by YC1

Mine moves a lot of air. Have you reversed it?

Yes