changing light fixtures
#1
changing light fixtures
ok
ive changed light fixtures before, so i do know what i am doing.
my question is this...
i bought a light fixture that has a plug on the end of it. can i cut the plug off and splice the wires together so that the light is attached to the ceiling wires? i hope this makes sense. (the light would then be connected to the light switch). if i can, what do i use as a ground wire? and which wire connects to the hot?
thanks
jacqui
ive changed light fixtures before, so i do know what i am doing.
my question is this...
i bought a light fixture that has a plug on the end of it. can i cut the plug off and splice the wires together so that the light is attached to the ceiling wires? i hope this makes sense. (the light would then be connected to the light switch). if i can, what do i use as a ground wire? and which wire connects to the hot?
thanks
jacqui
#2
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Northeastern NC On The Albemarle Sound
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Does your light fixture have a 3-prong plug? If it does, then it will have a ground wire.
You can cut off the plug and connect it to the ceiling box wires.
Turn OFF the circuit breaker or fuse to that lighting circuit first, of course.
If the light has a single switch, you just connect the black to black (hot), white to white (neutral), and green to bare (ground).
Twist about 5/8" bare ends of the wires together and then tightly twist on wire nuts.
If the light fixture has a 2-prong plug and does not have a ground wire, look for the wire from it that is imprinted or stamped. This one will be the neutral, and you connect it to the white in the box. The light fixture wire that is plain (no printing or imprint) will be the hot, and you connect it to the black in the box.
If the box has more than one wall switch, it has to be wired differently, however.
I'm not an electrician, and you should double check this preliminary information in the Electrical forum with the pros over there.
Tell them exactly what you have, and they can confirm this, or give you other advice.
Good luck!
Mike
You can cut off the plug and connect it to the ceiling box wires.
Turn OFF the circuit breaker or fuse to that lighting circuit first, of course.
If the light has a single switch, you just connect the black to black (hot), white to white (neutral), and green to bare (ground).
Twist about 5/8" bare ends of the wires together and then tightly twist on wire nuts.
If the light fixture has a 2-prong plug and does not have a ground wire, look for the wire from it that is imprinted or stamped. This one will be the neutral, and you connect it to the white in the box. The light fixture wire that is plain (no printing or imprint) will be the hot, and you connect it to the black in the box.
If the box has more than one wall switch, it has to be wired differently, however.
I'm not an electrician, and you should double check this preliminary information in the Electrical forum with the pros over there.
Tell them exactly what you have, and they can confirm this, or give you other advice.
Good luck!
Mike
#3
This is a question for the Electrical forum.
But, quickly - NO, you cannot do this. It is against code and considered a safety and fire hazard. While it may be physically possible to do, it's really, really not recommended.
Check the electrical forum for more info - someone asked this very question a couple months ago.
But, quickly - NO, you cannot do this. It is against code and considered a safety and fire hazard. While it may be physically possible to do, it's really, really not recommended.
Check the electrical forum for more info - someone asked this very question a couple months ago.