The fan changes speed by inserting a capacitor of different values in series with the motor .. direct drive to the motor is the fastest speed .. a large capacitor in series slows it down a bit and a smaller capacitor slows it down more ... so if your fan is running at full speed all the time then one of the capacitors is shorted or the switch is bad .. if its stuck on one of the lower speed settings then the switch has a bad contact .. the capacitors are mounted together in a small box with several wires going to the pull chain switch .. you can replace the capacitor box .. and you can replace the 3 or 4 position switch ... or you can remove all that stuff and put in a remote controled system .. that involves a box that just fits inside the fan .. it is hooked to AC power and neutral .. it then hooks up to the lilght and the fan giving you control over both .. you can vary brightness and fan speed .. you would no longer need the fan or light pull switch or the capacitors ... you could also get a new fan having such a controller .. since yours is fairly old it might be worthwhile to upgrade .. some of the remote controls allow you to set a temperature ..if the room goes above that temp then the fan turns on automatically and the speed is determined by how much higher the room temprature is from that set value .. some remotes also give you an additional very low fan speed .. thats nice at night when you just need a gentle breeze .. some also allow you to set a delay before the lights go out after you have clicked "turn off" ... that gives you time to exit the room or get in bed before the lights actually go out ... kindof nice features that might make it worth while to up grade .. to get parts for your old fan see this URL
http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/hampton-bay-ceiling-fan-parts.php
since Home Depot sells hampton bay .. then they might have parts as well .. worth a try .. you can also see new models there ..
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