Help please: 2 white/2black one ground


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Old 06-24-18, 11:01 AM
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Question Help please: 2 white/2black one ground

Hi all,

I'd appreciate any help I can get as I'm a novice DIY for electrical stuff. I have a ceiling light box that I'm trying to connect a light to. It originally had a simple little ceramic bulb fixture with an outlet on it. I now have 6 wires, 2 common and 2 black and 2 ground (twisted together). The whites and blacks are not twisted together. one pair of black/whites is hot regardless of switch position. I'm assuming this was meant for the outlet part of the fixture that was in previously. The other two are dead regardless of switch position. How do I rig this to work for just a new fixture?
 
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Old 06-24-18, 12:18 PM
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I'm assuming this was meant for the outlet part of the fixture that was in previously
Might also be a switch loop. How is the switch wired. Is there only two wires with a black and white on the switch?
 
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Old 06-24-18, 12:22 PM
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Did the porcelain lamp holder have a pull chain on it to turn it on and off?
 
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Old 06-24-18, 12:41 PM
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Seems that the two "always hot" ones are the feed in, the "always dead" are the switch drop. If you put in a new light, you would connect the "always hot" black wire to the "always dead" white wire, tape that white wire with black elec tape so future people will know it's hot, connect the "always dead" black wire to the black wire on the new light, and connect the "always hot" white wire with the white wire on the new light. Also if there's a ground on the new light, connect that with the other two grounds, and put a d*mn green wire nut on that thing! lol

Basically the "always dead" side is just used as power back and forth from the switch, which goes between the power source and the new light, so they're both considered "black" once wired correctly.

(I'm assuming since you mentioned a switch that it was on the wall.. and only has one set of wires leading into it like Ray said... if not, disregard this message)
 
 

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