ceiling-fanreplacement
I'm trying to install a new ceiling fan with a remote. The old ceiling fan had this for wiring:
The new fan has black, white and green. The combinations I've tried have not produced any function at all. How should I connect the wires?
If you want the fan and light to operate separately, then connecting the wires as you described is the way to go. If you want the whole fixture to be controlled from a single switch, the manual is describing the proper wiring.
As for the green grounding wire, simply attach it to the green grounding wire in the ceiling. You should use an appropriately sized ring or fork terminal, to connect the ground under the same screw as the ground from the ceiling.
Absolutely do not leave the wires alone wrapped in electrical tape. Electrical tape does not have enough longevity to safely protect the exposed leads and can create a hazard in the future.
The blue wire exists to support the future addition of a light. The polite thing to do for your future self or future owner of your home would be to connect the blue and red wires. However, it is not necessary; if you do not want to, you can cap both leads with wire nuts.
Note that it is also legitimate to connect the black on the fan to the red from the ceiling, and the blue on the fan to the black from the ceiling. Assuming you have two switches, that will swap which switch controls the fan and which switch controls the light.
If the existing black-black connection doesn't work, you can try the black-red. If that does work, it would suggest that the switch for the fan has failed, although it could also indicate other wiring problems.
Best Answer
Is there a switch in the room, and does the current ceiling fan have both a light and a fan?
The easiest way I've found to do this is to get a multimeter($5) and use it to determine which wire is hot (in the US, this is usually the black one). The next challenge is to determine which wire (if any) is switched), and you do that by checking each wire with the switch on and off.
Chances are, your new ceiling fan has hot (black), neutral (white), and ground (green). Typically, you would hook it up black -> black, white ->white, and green to either green or to a green grounding screw in the junction box, and you would cap (i.e. put a wire nut on) the switched wire.