Hooking up a new light fixture

Hello everyone!
I am new to the forums (and for that matter, anything DIY).

I have to apologize for my newbie-ness, but I want to make sure I do tthis right.
I have decided to replace the light fixture in my bathroom, and watched a couple of youtube videos on how to do it. Anyway, I managed to take the fixture off, unhook the wires, and unwrap the new fixture - then I got cold feet.

In the new fixture, there is a white wire (which I have learned is neutral), a black wire (a hot one), and a bare copper wire (the ground wire). Cool. Inside the wall, there are two white wires attached together, black wires attached by a cap, and a red wire! I think there is also a ground wire, buried in there somewhere.

Eek! I am a wee concerned, I don't want to blow up anything, so what should I do? I'll also see if I can take a picture with my phone so you can see what I mean.

Any and all help is appreciated - I am trying to surprise my new husband while he is gone away with his job. Newlywed enthusiasm!!!!

 

Katters: Welcome to the forums, and to DIYland. It is good you left the black wires capped together. With what you have (white/red/ground) leave the blacks out of the picture. The red wire is hot and the whites are your neutral. You do have the breaker turned off while you are doing this, right??? Hook your fixture black to the red and the fixture white to the white group using caps, and connect the grounding wires. Let us know how things go.

Oh yeah, to prevent things like this happening in the future, use your phone....take a picture of the old fixture and its wiring. Connect it up the way it came down. You can thank us later.

 

Chandler has good info there! I just want to add one term. The red wire is a hot wire but will also be called a "switch leg". This term is only identifying that this is the wire that comes off the switch and feeds the light.

 

Hi guys!!!
Thanks for your suggestions!!! I have pictures now!!! please tell me if I'm on the right track.

Here's what I have hooked up:


Here's that pesky ground wire:


I have no idea what to do with this ground wire:



This is where I am now. (Don't worry, I turned off the breaker. eek!!! my hair is already wild enough!)

Again, thank you for your patience - I know this may be a "lower level" question but I'm SUCH a newb!!!!!

And thank you again for your help!!!! His mind will be blown!!!

 

The ground wire gets connected to the bare copper wire in the box.

Everything else looks correct.

 

You seem to have a white and red together. That would be a dead short. The red needs to go to the black of your light. The white of your light goes to the bundle of whites.

 

Looks Ok to me Ray. See the first picture.

 

Our posts crossed. That first picture wasn't there I swear but what's with the second picture that seems to show red with white? That was what I was writing about.

 

Yup I have hooked up red - black, white - white! Maybe its just the way the picture was taken.
How do I attach the copper wires together?

TIA!

 

The bare is already connected to the box. Just wirenut both the bares together.

 

How do I wirenut them together?
(sorry... bring it down to the lowest level please!!!)

 

Place the two wires side by side. Screw on another connector like was used to splice the red to the black or white to white.