I recently bought a pair of Kichler exterior lamps. They are the model 9611 TZ. When I opened them up, I noticed two wires were a silver color. There is also a copper colored ground. I emailed the company to ask if they were using aluminum wire. I got an email back saying the wires are "copper with aluminum tint". Does anyone have experience with this? I've never heard of it.

Next question: If this is a problem and I want to re-wire the lamps with copper wire, can I use any gauge? I have a roll of Romex 12-2. As long as it will fit through the neck, is it ok to use? My other options are using it as it (possibly risking fire), rewiring with a 14 or 16 gauge, or returning the lamps and looking for something else.

Thanks for reading and any help.

 

It's maybe not "tint" but "tinning". It's what is done to copper wires to make them easier to solder. May be other reasons as well. Corrosion? Oxidation?

You should have no problems using them as is. Just use the correct size wirenuts for your application.

 

No need to rewire the fixtures. Many fixture have tinned ends.