Electrical – Ceiling Fan Replacement – Wiring Issue

Most receivers are built so they fit inside the fan box in between the fan hanger. I am assuming you have already tried that and it doesn't fit in there or in the junction box the bracket is attached to. I have never tried to put it in a switch box so I don't know the outcome of that.

What I have done is carefully cut the ceiling drywall around the hanger box and slipped the receiver up beside the junction box. If you feel you have to put a the receiver in a box you can do that also. If the hole is too big to cover it with the fan box cover you can use a medallion to cover the hole (get it) mess.

This is a fairly simple one but you could they come in various shapes and sizes. Also remember if you use something like this you might want to use some sort of extension ring or shield and it wouldn't hurt to have a 6-32 and a 8-32 screw kit for longer screws when needed.

FYI - I know it's a feature but I have never been much of a supporter of the reverse switch idea. Think about it, trying to take a fan and circulate heat down from the ceiling doesn't really make sense especially if you figure in the chill factor it creates. Also most modern ac systems will get enough of an air mix to correctly heat the air in an area, and what they can't solve with that they can aim the air with the registar. Most of the time, in my area people play with it once or twice and then forget about it. I have had more call backs on getting the air to blow down after the owner couldn't figure out that they had left the fan in a reverse mode than the other way around.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Check the last receptacle before the switch, anyway

This sounds like a failed connection at the load-side neutral of the last receptacle, given the voltage readings observed. My bet is that the receptacles were wired using backstabs, too, so if you pull out the last receptacle in the chain and find it back-stabbed, I'd change it over to pigtails to the side-screws, and then repeat for all the other receptacles in the house even, one circuit at a time, as builder-grade backstabs have a habit of stabbing folks in the back in the way you see here.

The other place I would check would be the junction box. A wirenut is less likely to fail than a backstab, and the lights aren't going to be nearly as susceptible to brownout as a ceiling fan is (the ceiling fan starting current is probably causing enough voltage drop across the bad connection that the fan simply does not turn, while the bulb's simply going to be a bit dim at most), but it's worth checking while you are in there.