Tracy wrote:

I have my great grandmothers 4 bulb floor lamp that has started to make
crackling noises in the upper bulb. I would like to rewire all ends. It
has me lost as to which wire goes where. Ok.... I also didnt write down
everything ( or map it) while taking it apart. :{ Big Mistake!

no comment


The 3 lower bulbs connect to the lower turning switch. Turn once for one
light on, turn again for 2 lights on, turn again for 3 lights on at
once, turn again and all off. The switch has a black, blue and, red wire
coming from it.

The upper turning switch is just your basic off and on, but was wired
thru the the lower wiring.

I would truly appreciate ANY help on rewiring this properly. A diagram
or drawing would make the most sense to me, but any info would really help.

Thank you in advance.....If I havent made anything clear please ask.

Sincerely,

Tracy


Given the lack of wiring info, I'd start by taking a modern bulbholder
+ wire and attaching its 2 wires temporarily to each and every
combination of switch output wires. Write it all down and you've mapped
exactly what the switch is doing. Now if you know which bulbs are to
come on at each switch setting, its easy to see what holders need to
connect to where.

I trust you'll ignore all advice to replace with modern parts.
Honestly.

I dont know how old this is, but if its really 99 years old it might be
a safety hazard. Things before the 1920s were commonly quite clueless
safety wise, with bare live bits not unusual at that time. 2 possible
ways to deal with the situation a

a) use sleeving around the internal wiring to double insulate it.
b) add an enamelled copper wire to the lamp chassis and wind it along
the mains lead back to the plug. Enamelled copper is close to
invisible.

If any of the visible wiring is crumbling you can get new cloth covered
twisted wire. Beware of substituting pvc as rubber is much more heat
tolerant, and its possible the wires may go somewhere pvc couldnt
handle.

Finally check its got some sort of cordgrip, its almost always easy to
make one out of sight under the base.


NT