
Replacing fan and light switches on a San Yang Pai CY-760 range hood. Toronto, Canada, photo1 by Don Tai
My San Yang Pai model CY-760-A range hood came with our house. Overall it is a good range hood suitable for Chinese stir fry cooking. We did not buy it new, so I do not know exactly how old it is, but I estimate it to be about 20 years old. The on/off switches were giving trouble, and the left fan stopped turning on. These switches are in constant use.
The CY-760 is 680 cfm that uses a 6″ duct. It is 30″ wide. The fuse is a F5A250v fast blow 5A 250v 20mm fuse. I’ve since changed the recommendation to a T5A250v slow blow fuse instead.
Model: CY-760A Super Performance
Wall-Mounted Style
Size: 30″
Exhaust Volume: 680 C.F.M.
Color: White
Rotation: Twin Motor
Voltage: 120V/60Hz
Diameter of Exhausting Duct: 6″ source
Recently the on/off switches for the fan’s left/right/light started to not work. I took out the fuse, dropped the cover and removed the switch assembly. The switch contacts were starting to crack from age, causing the left fan to not start. I needed a new switch assembly.

San Yang Pai CY-760 Range Hood original light and fan switch. Sadly, now unavailable. Photo by Don Tai

San Yang Pai CY-760 Range Hood original light and fan switch, inside. Sadly, now unavailable. Inside copper contacts starting to crack and not conduct electricity. Photo by Don Tai

San Yang Pai CY-760 Range Hood original light and fan switch, inside. Sadly, now unavailable. Inside copper contacts starting to crack and not conduct electricity. Contact side is down. Photo by Don Tai
San Yang Pai looks like a company started in the US but then moved to Taiwan. It is not a new school Chinese brand name, though it sounds like it. Overall the quality of the fan is really good. My fan has been in constant use, in a Chinese family, for over 20 years, and the fan motors are still in really good shape. The fans suck up oil vapour, some oil drips down to two oil cups just under the protective fan grills. There are rear oil drip containers as well, and they all collect oil that needs to be poured out. This is easily done.
Replacement parts from San Yang Pai for my range hood was problematic. I emailed the Californian head office but received no reply. The Canadian office in Markham just said the range hood was too old and I should get a new one. New range hoods are $500-$600.
My solution was to replace the on/off switch assembly with 3 250v SPST switches, which I bought for $3 each. These switches are very common at electronics stores and take the standard electrical connectors that come with the range hood. I did need to remove the switch assembly, cut a plastic cover to hold the switches, and attach the cover to the range hood.
As seen from the back of the fan, facing forward, looking at the rear of the switch assembly:
black/white: Common ground for all 3 switches
black (light), blue (right fan), orange (left fan)
Since replacing the on/off switches the range hood is working very well and shows no signs of wearing out. There is very little to go wrong with this range hood. at 680 cfm it is as powerful as most other residential range hoods that specialize in Chinese cooking. Going to a more powerful fan would mean moving to a commercial unit, and then air flow and circulation problems might occur, like the fan sucking exhaust air from my furnace into my kitchen.
Product Quality: The San Yang Pai CY-760 range hood is of high quality. It has lasted for 20 years of continuous use, with only an occasional cleaning. Taking it apart, the wiring is thick and still intact. All contacts are covered with plastic. It is easy to service and to troubleshoot. The fan motors are really good quality. While I could not get the replacement parts for my on/off switch mechanism, if today’s range hoods are of the same quality I would buy another San Yang Pai.
So for some reason my F5a 250v 5x20mm fuses keep blowing. I’ve disassembled the range hood from my kitchen and can see nothing wrong. The fan in question does run without much friction and is clean, so not gunked up. I’ve replaced the fuse with a T5a 250v fuse (time delay or slow blow) as the blowing happens at startup. Maybe the fan is sucking down more amps at startup, which is perfectly normal. We’ll see. The T5a 250v 5x20mm box of 10 costs $4.50, slightly more expensive than the F5a at $2.50.
I opened the range hood’s electrical box and it was very neat and tidy. Great work, with good connectors. The fans can be disassembled from below the range hood. There are 3 10mm bolts to remove, then twist the motor and it comes out. You do need to wiggle the electrical wire to give it more room. There are 4 wires per motor. I did not know what they all do so could not test them.
Addendum: Sept 27 2016
A couple of months ago someone was throwing out a 1995 Pacific AK-600 range hood, made in Taiwan, so I thought it would be good for parts. Dated 1995 the range hood is rated at 580 cfm. I put power to it and everything, both fans at two speeds and the light, worked. Interesting. For comparison I started to take the Pacific apart to see if items would fit my San Yang Pai.
The San Yang Pai is better made. The cover fits better, there is a fuse, missing in the Pacific, the black plastic gasket that covers the metal hole just under the fan blades has a flexible gasket, which gives you a better air tight fit. These are small things but worth noting.
The fan blades of the Pacific are an exact match for the San Yang Pai, and therefore are interchangeable. The motors are both rated at 120v 60 hz and come apart exactly the same way. The chrome blade guards are the same 8″ in diameter. The vent to the outside is the same 6″. The interior electrical box is metal in both and are designed the same. Both were made in Taiwan. I believe I will be able to do a motorectomy in the future.
Both fans are old and predate the internet, so I know I’m on my own for tech support.
Addendum 2016 Dec 05
About 6 months ago the temporary plastic plate that I used cracked and needed to be replaced. The actual SPST switches are all still functional, but the plastic I used was too thin and with repeated flexing did crack in half. As there needed to be three large holes dilled into the plastic for the switches, the space between the holes is thin and this is where the crack started.
This time I started with 1/8″ thick plastic from a discarded snowblower. The dimensions for the plate are 3 1/4″ x 1 5/8″. The middle hole is drilled exactly in the middle lengthwise and heightwise. The other two holes were drilled 7/8″ to the left and right of the middle hole. I believe the switches are 1/4″ OD so I needed to drill a slightly larger hole. Plan out all three holes first, then use small drill bits to start the holes, increasing in diameter until you get to slightly over 1/4″. ASs the square cutout for the switches is not wide there was no more space than 7/8″ between holes to allow the switch boxes to clear.

Replacing fan and light switches on a San Yang Pai CY-760 range hood. Toronto, Canada, photo1 by Don Tai
I would have preferred to find an exact replacement for the OEM switches, but alas, this is a near 20 year old range hood and there are no extra switches to buy anywhere. The wife finds this acceptable and it does work well. Again, function over form.

Replacing fan and light switches on a San Yang Pai CY-760 range hood. Toronto, Canada, photo2 by Don Tai
I need right and left switch for SAN YANG PAI CY 760 and alxo switch for the light please give me all how to get it the information
[Don: Hi Ivo. I’ve updated my posting with by home made switch and plate solution, with photos and dimensions. This is a pretty easy plate to create and at $10CAD, inexpensive. The switches are $3CAD each. I hope you can fix yours as I have fixed mine. Don]
Hello
My fan is a cy-198 and I cannot figure out how to access the motor and blades. It is a newer exhaust fan hood than yours and the blades are difficult to clean. There is no pre-filter. It looks like yours except it has toggle switches. Just how did you access the inside? How did you clean it? Thank you
Thank you
[Don: Hi Maureen, and thanks for stopping by. You really need to remove the fan blades for a thorough cleaning. This is pretty easy.
First, if there is a fuse for your fan, then remove the fuse. Then from underneath and facing the fan, you will first need to remove the chrome blade guard and plastic drip cup. They are usually held in by one or two screws. My fan has a bottom cover with cutouts for the fans. This metal cover needs to be removed. To do this you will need to remove 6 screws from the underside. After the cover is removed you will see the fan blades and ducting. In the middle of each circular blade there is a round 2″ diameter plastic cover. My covers are black. They simply pop off using a flat head screwdriver. This will expose the axle of the fan blade, which is a hex bolt. Loosen this bolt but you need not completely remove it. Then grab the fan blades, maybe from he sides, and wiggle them towards you until they loosen and come off. If you have never done this before there may be hardened grease on there, making it more difficult. The fan blades are very strong, so you don’t need to worry about damaging the blades.
Clean the blades with trisodium phosphate (TSP), which you can buy cheaply from Home Depot, and some old toothbrushes. The large box is cheapest. TSP is an excellent degreaser and safe to use.]
I have a San Yang Pai 760A for sale it was never used . It’s black but does have a couple dings in it . My mom remodeled her kitchen and it was dinged during installation, she got a new one and this was put back in the box and in storage.
[Don: Lisa is in Los Angeles, California. Too bad, I would have bought it from her if she was closer.]
Hi Lisa, I know its been 2 years but Do you still have a San Yang Pai 760a for sale?
Hi,
I have a San Yang CY-760A installed in 1993 and need to replace the light switch. Do you know where I can get the switch replacement?
Thanks,
Phebe
[Hi Phebe, I’ve searched for the light switch and contacted the company in California and Taiwan. They have none. You could remove the switch group and see if you can clean it, but there are no direct replacements. My switch group was not salvageable because the contacts were completely worn through. I made a plate and replaced all three with simpler but uglier on/off toggle switches, bought for $2 each. That was my best solution, and it has worked very well. In the future if any of these switches need replacing it will be much easier.
It is a shame to replace the whole range hood just because 3 simple on/off switches have worn out. I did not want to replace the range hood because it still works quite well.
Don]
Does anyone know what size/type of lightbulb for this range hood? I have the manual but it doesn’t specify, and the previous owner appears to have just put in “something that fit”
I need the plastic cover for the light rang hood cu – 760A
[Don: The light cover is a simple flat piece of plastic. I replaced mine with a plastic light cover from another random range hood. ]
The light of my SAN YANG PAI S-75 ( i bought syst 2 years before ) is defectived ( The light Flashed when hot after few minutes ) . I want to chance light but how can i get parts number , and what kind of the light ? Can i install the Led for long life . Thanks .
[Don: I have an older San Yang Pai, so am unfamiliar with the S-75. First you should try to replace the bulbs (they look like halogen) before you disassemble, as the bulbs might be defective. The lights are really very simple, using only 2 wires. but you’ll need to take them apart to replace them. Good luck, Don]
HI Don, thanks for posting your fix to your San Yang Pai range hood. Seems that the older models have a bunch of buttons and a round knob on the far right. What is that round knob for since all the other ones are for each fan with high and low and light switch for each side of the lights?
Also, can you post more pics of your range hood? There are absolutely no pictures of these older models of the hood fans.