I recently purchased a ceiling fan thinking it would be a fun DIY project but when I went to install it, I came across many problems. I have attached a photo of my ceiling fan socket on the ceiling below.
It appears as if there are 4 wires (fan only calls for 3) and not only that, but 3 of the 4 are jammed up into the left hole. If you look, the red wire is the only one free, the yellow black and grey are jammed up into the left hole. I have tried tugging on the jammed wires and they seem to budge an inch at max. I am afraid that if I pull too much I will break the wires and then I would be in a really bad position. Is there a way for me to unscrew the whole wall plate to see what is going on with the wires? I am confidant that I can install the fan once I get all the wires unstuck and have the leads exposed. I have a multimeter handy to measure voltage if necessary. I live in the U.S. and this house was built 25 or so years ago (this socket's wiring hasn't been touched since then).