Too many wires in ceiling
#1
12-11-06, 09:50 AM
Too many wires in ceiling
I have just moved into a 12 year old condo in Toronto, Canada.
I would like to install a new IKEA ceiling light.
It is a basic light containing three incandescent 60 watt bulbs.
The back of the IKEA fixture has 3 wires:
1 black and 1 white which are wired to the light bulb sockets and a green wire which is attached to a nut in the back of the fixture, I assume for grounding.
The problem is in the ceiling.
The box has never had anything installed in it. No light, no fan, nothing. So I have no previous installation to provide me with a guide as to which wires to use.
It contains:
1 capped orange wire.
7 white wires all capped together.
7 dark green wires all capped together with an 8th wire (light green) capped with them, but attached to metal in the ceiling (a ground wire?) rather than coming out of the ceiling like the others.
5 black wires capped together in one set.
4 black wires capped together in a second set.
Why would they put in all of these wires?
Which ones should I use and if I have to figure that out with a meter, how do I do that?
I would like to install a new IKEA ceiling light.
It is a basic light containing three incandescent 60 watt bulbs.
The back of the IKEA fixture has 3 wires:
1 black and 1 white which are wired to the light bulb sockets and a green wire which is attached to a nut in the back of the fixture, I assume for grounding.
The problem is in the ceiling.
The box has never had anything installed in it. No light, no fan, nothing. So I have no previous installation to provide me with a guide as to which wires to use.
It contains:
1 capped orange wire.
7 white wires all capped together.
7 dark green wires all capped together with an 8th wire (light green) capped with them, but attached to metal in the ceiling (a ground wire?) rather than coming out of the ceiling like the others.
5 black wires capped together in one set.
4 black wires capped together in a second set.
Why would they put in all of these wires?
Which ones should I use and if I have to figure that out with a meter, how do I do that?
#4
12-11-06, 01:30 PM
Reply
Wirepuller38:
They look like basic wires to me. What are pig-tails?
Joed:
The white light wire to the 7 whites in the ceiling kind of makes sense, but do I connect the light's black wire to the orange wire and nothing to the 7 dark greens in the ceiling? and the light's green wire to the ceiling's light green ground wire?
What are all the black wires in the ceiling for and why would they be grouped together in two separate bundles? What are the 7 dark green wires for?
They look like basic wires to me. What are pig-tails?
Joed:
The white light wire to the 7 whites in the ceiling kind of makes sense, but do I connect the light's black wire to the orange wire and nothing to the 7 dark greens in the ceiling? and the light's green wire to the ceiling's light green ground wire?
What are all the black wires in the ceiling for and why would they be grouped together in two separate bundles? What are the 7 dark green wires for?
#6
01-01-07, 10:46 AM
It worked!
Hi Joed:
I connected the light green wire in the light fixture to the bundle of green wires, the white wire in the light fixture to the bundle of white wires and the the black wire in the light fixture to the orange wire in the ceiling.
Reset the breakers, flipped the switch and voila, light.
Thanks for your help with the wiring.
Now I have to attach the thing and the sockets are so deep in the ceiling that I can't see or find them when I have the light fixture up against the ceiling, but that's probably a problem for a different thread.
I connected the light green wire in the light fixture to the bundle of green wires, the white wire in the light fixture to the bundle of white wires and the the black wire in the light fixture to the orange wire in the ceiling.
Reset the breakers, flipped the switch and voila, light.
Thanks for your help with the wiring.
Now I have to attach the thing and the sockets are so deep in the ceiling that I can't see or find them when I have the light fixture up against the ceiling, but that's probably a problem for a different thread.
#7
01-01-07, 11:03 AM
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The holes in the box are an 8x32 thread, You probably need longer ones.
Install them in the box first, then the light will slide over them via the key hole slots in the fixture.
Install them in the box first, then the light will slide over them via the key hole slots in the fixture.
