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Jeff Wisnia Jeff Wisnia is offline
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Default Install a ceiling lamp

wrote:
I have a ceiling mount 3 light track that I'm trying to install. First,
the current wiring on the ceiling consists of black, white, and a green
wire that seems to be split into two and one end has a black tape
around the end. The house is a 1940 built and has been remodeled since
though I don't know if the whole wiring has also been re-wired. I took
off the existing lamp and noticed there was a lot wiring mixed. I also
noticed one of the green wires was wrapped with the black and then
there was an extension of the lamp wire wrapped to the ground wire
around a screw. Once I removed the lamp I proceeded to install the new
lamp following the directions from the book, fairly simple; attached
the white wires with the whites and the black with the blacks, then the
ground wire from the fixture to be wrapped in the metal plate mount
screw. I noticed I had the green wire left out and had no idea what to
do with it so I wrapped it with black tape for now. When I turned the
switch from the braker on, I noticed the lamp had power but the light
switch was turned off so I'm not understanding why...I decided to
switch cables around with the green; I wrapped one end of the green
cable to the white and another one to the black but the results were
the same, the lamp comes on but the switch from the wall is still off.
I then wrapped the green wires to the black cable only, same results
then I switched and wrapped the green with the whites, no luck. I am
confused now! what is going on? the old lamp worked just fine and the
new one does not work correctly. The wall switch is not faulty as the
existing lamp used to work no problems. It seems as if the green wires
one of them must be a hot one, but then if that is the case, which
cable should I wrapped it around with, i've tried it all ways I can
think of...help help help!!!



You did make a sketch or snap a photo of the way the wiring was conected
to the lfixture you removed didn't you?

Just hook up the new lamp the same way.

If you didn't record the original wiring, then puhleeze hire a pro to
figure it out before you burn down your house or electrocute yourself.

"It was working before, but now it doesn't." We seem to be getting a
spate of the same kind of posts these days from folks who know squat
about electric wiring.

"Fools rush in where angels dare to tread."

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.98*10^14 fathoms per fortnight.