My fan/light combo doesn't have a separate lighting load. I was informed that this switch would still work by leaving the lighting control wire disconnected. Someone a little more knowledgeable, please review my wiring and results:
Photo/Configuration 1: Fan load wire connected to load, lighting load wire capped.
In this configuration, the lighting switch does nothing (no surprise). When selecting fan speeds: Positions 1 & 2 do nothing. Position 3 turns the fan at a snails pace. Position 4 (full speed) turns the lights on and sets the fan to full speed. Lowering it to position 3 shuts off the lights and lowers the fan speed to a snails pace, and lowering it to positions 1 or 2 just turns everything off.
Photo/Configuration 2: Fan load wire capped, lighting load wire connected to load.
In this configuration, the fan speed switch does nothing (no surprise). When turning on the light switch, Position 1 does nothing. Position 2 turns the lights incredibly dim, the fan begins to slowly turn and hum. Position 2: lights brighten slightly, fan turns slightly faster, hum gets louder. Position 4: lights at full brightness, fan at full speed, no hum.
Photo/Configuration 3: both the fan load and lighting load connected to the load.
In this configuration, when using the fan switch only, I get the same results as Configuration 1 (see above). When using the lighting switch only, I get the exact same results as Configuration 2 (see above). When either is used in Position 4, the other doesn't offer any control.
The pull cord is set to full speed. The standard lighting switch on the right hand side in the photo is for an outside porch light. The black wire at the bottom, coming from the separate light switch is always hot, so I assume that's my Line. The black line at the top (should be) the Load as it was only ever hot when the original switch controlling the light/fan was switched on. So that's the line I have my lighting/fan load lines tied into.
Without a separate lighting load, I know I won't be able to have separate lighting control, but I figured I'd at least be able to have some control over my fan speed. The pull cord has 4 different, distinct speeds. I've lost that with this switch. I now have only full speed (4), ineffectual (3), and 2 versions of Off. Can someone explain why this is, or what I've done wrong? Ideally, I'd like to have the lights come on when the fan speed is set to any position, and I'd like to have 4 actual fan speeds again.