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I have a bathroom fan that doesn't turn anymore. Flipping the switch doesn't do anything, but if I nudge it enough it might get going. I used to spray WD-40 on the bottom where I could see it turn and that used to be enough to get it going for another few weeks, but now it's really dead.

Any tips on replacing this thing? I've purchased a really simple replacement fan at Home Depot that seems to be about the same size. What I'm not sure about is what I need to take out of the existing hole where the fan is - are there any ducts or the like that are tricky to take care of?

I'm assuming the steps are something like so:

  1. Turn off all power to the bathroom
  2. Remove fan cover and unscrew everything I see
  3. (Detach ducts?)
  4. Put new fan in place of the old one and screw in everything I can see
  5. (Attach ducts?)
  6. Turn on power, pray, flip on switch to fan
  7. Success

Now, before I kill myself, is there anything else I need to be aware of? Do I need to crawl into my attic to detach/attach anything? I'm not even aware of what pipes lead where up there.

I'm pretty clueless with how this works, so apologies if I left out any critical information. I'm guessing that it's pretty standard stuff, but I'm completely unfamiliar with the whole territory (I don't know what I don't know, and all that).

Jonathan Yee
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4 Answers4

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If you have an existing fan, you should be able to replace the motor only. Turn off power, remove faceplate, unplug motor. Remove motor. Install new motor, plug in new motor. Turn on power and test, replace faceplate.

A picture of the housing your fan is in would help a lot.

overslacked
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If you have the option, I think it's easier to connect the wiring and ducts from the attic side. If it was installed during construction, they did it without the ceiling in place, so you may find that the screws/nails to remove the enclosure cannot be accessed from in the bathroom. Make sure you get a tight fit with the drywall, otherwise you'll be sucking dust and dirt from the attic into the fan. That's all I can think of to add. nmc's link covered pretty much everything else.

BMitch
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I had a fan that was also having a hard time starting to spin. Inside the light fixture, the fan/motor assembly was plugged into a small outlet within the box, which along with a couple of screws made it easy to remove the fan.

Once that was out, I was able to clean lint out of the motor and add a few drops of lubricant oil where contact was being made. At this point there was a noticeable difference in how easy it was to turn the fan by hand. After putting the entire assembly back in place it spun better than it has in years. Cheaper than buying a replacement fan, and definitely easier than replacing the full box by avoiding wiring/ducting work.

hallsa
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See this video How to Replace and Install a Bathroom Ventilation Fan

Tester101
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nmc
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