Did lightning burn my fan, or the switch?

Question

Lightning struck my house and fried a breaker. I replaced the breaker but I still have a ceiling fan/light that wont come on. Could the lightning have burnt the fan/light, or do you think it's in the switch itself?

Answer 1

if the fan was during the strike, then its most probable that the fan took a dive. The fan is a small induction motor, and doesn't take much current to burn it up. I would recommend a voltage meter at the switch to check if you have 120vac there.

if you don't have a meter, you can buy a cheap inductance tester, kid of looks like a pen with a light or with a sound buzzer, this too can check for a voltage present at the switch. If after you check and there's a voltage present, i would feel safe to assume that your fan has fried.

if there is not voltage present, then you may have a problem with wiring from the breaker to the switch, which would require a electrician to re-wire for you.

good luck!