Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).
To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

Do i really need to use an insulated phillips head screwdriver for this
job?
So i wear rubber gloves or something?
any other tips?

Thanks
Luke

I think it was who stated:

Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

That's all you really need to do. If the wires that were there match
the wires that ARE there, you're good to go.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).

What I do is leave teh power ON at the light switch, just to be sure
that the circuit I turned off was the one at the light I wanted off.

To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

I think you're OK . . . .

One more thing you can do is to short all the wires in the box
together before you actually touch anything metal. That will reassure
you that there are no live wires left anywhere.
--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

Thanks. Do you reakon I'd need to use insulated tools for this sort of
job?

When you say "short all the wires in the box" do you mean tap the 2
wires
together and see if it sparks? How safe is this if you use your fingers
on the
insulation to do this?

Is there any chance once you turn off the power that a charge is still
in the wires?

Thanks again,
Luke

Don Fearn wrote:
I think it was who stated:

Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

That's all you really need to do. If the wires that were there match
the wires that ARE there, you're good to go.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).

What I do is leave teh power ON at the light switch, just to be sure
that the circuit I turned off was the one at the light I wanted off.

To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

I think you're OK . . . .

One more thing you can do is to short all the wires in the box
together before you actually touch anything metal. That will reassure
you that there are no live wires left anywhere.
--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

I think it was who stated:

Thanks. Do you reakon I'd need to use insulated tools for this sort of
job?

No. If the power is off, insulated tools are unnecessary.

When you say "short all the wires in the box" do you mean tap the 2
wires
together and see if it sparks?

Correct. But if you've identified the correct circuit and the attached
light is unlit, you won't get sparks.

How safe is this if you use your fingers
on the
insulation to do this?

If you're touching only the insulation you're safe, even if the power
was on; only the metal parts will conduct electricity.

Is there any chance once you turn off the power that a charge is still
in the wires?

If the power is off, there will be no charge on the wires.
--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

yes because the previous homeowner ran another circuit wire nearby
which is still live. with the level of expertise being low, then
increase the safety level by turning off the MAIN breaker. electricians
have helpers with cellphones and flashlight; they know how to keep
water from coming in thru the wall around the fixture, know what
adapter plate and stainless steel screws to choose, how to select a
photo-eye fixture for your job, how to measure for the hot voltage on
one of the wires to go to the center light bulb terminal of the light
socket, and whether to recommend a GFI outlet nearby for your
convenience in the backyard. they can recommend wiring repairs and
updates to you and give you written estimates for them.

wrote:
Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).
To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

Do i really need to use an insulated phillips head screwdriver for this
job?
So i wear rubber gloves or something?
any other tips?

Thanks
Luke

I think it was "buffalobill" who stated:

yes because the previous homeowner ran another circuit wire nearby
which is still live. with the level of expertise being low, then
increase the safety level by turning off the MAIN breaker. electricians
have helpers with cellphones and flashlight; they know how to keep
water from coming in thru the wall around the fixture, know what
adapter plate and stainless steel screws to choose, how to select a
photo-eye fixture for your job, how to measure for the hot voltage on
one of the wires to go to the center light bulb terminal of the light
socket, and whether to recommend a GFI outlet nearby for your
convenience in the backyard. they can recommend wiring repairs and
updates to you and give you written estimates for them.

What is THAT all about?? The OP asked about swapping a spot light with
a broken casing . . . .

--
"Trust me, there is NO way to nonchalantly conceal the fact that you have a
power tool in your head, no matter what you do." -- El Gato

Don Fearn wrote:
...

What I do is leave teh power ON at the light switch, just to be sure
that the circuit I turned off was the one at the light I wanted off.


A good idea, it it would not save you if the lamp burned out at just the
wrong time, which once happened to me. Now I turn it off, check to see if
the lamp is off, turn it back on and recheck to make sure it is on then turn
it off again. I did not get hurt, but I did get a shower of sparks. :-)

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Don Fearn wrote:
I think it was "buffalobill" who stated:

yes because the previous homeowner ran another circuit wire nearby
which is still live. with the level of expertise being low, then
increase the safety level by turning off the MAIN breaker. electricians
have helpers with cellphones and flashlight; they know how to keep
water from coming in thru the wall around the fixture, know what
adapter plate and stainless steel screws to choose, how to select a
photo-eye fixture for your job, how to measure for the hot voltage on
one of the wires to go to the center light bulb terminal of the light
socket, and whether to recommend a GFI outlet nearby for your
convenience in the backyard. they can recommend wiring repairs and
updates to you and give you written estimates for them.

What is THAT all about?? The OP asked about swapping a spot light with
a broken casing . . . .


BTW Brown an blue sound like European wire colours. (Cos in North
America the live wire is likely to be black (or occasionally red). The
OP did not mention a green or yellow/green ground or earth wire? So
maybe that cracked fixture is plastic and therefore does not need to be
grounded.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box

Tag the switch something like "do not turn on - work in progress" Lock the
switch in the open position if you have this feature. People get zap or kill
because someone decided to flip the switch - happens on job sites or at
home.

Have an extra person around to get help or have a cell phone in you pocket
for a 911 call. My scaffold collapsed a few years ago and I landed on my
back. Couldn't move for 10 minutes - a phone or an extra person around would
have been nice.

If you are gonna trash the old liht fixture I would twist the two
wires together just in case there was a capacitor in it and someone
( maybe your kiddos ) dont pick it up and get their bell rung

On 20 Dec 2006 19:07:38 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).
To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

Do i really need to use an insulated phillips head screwdriver for this
job?
So i wear rubber gloves or something?
any other tips?

Thanks
Luke

An electrical "sniffer" is a handy tool for the unsure.

They only cost a couple of bucks and can identify a live wire without
touching it. Yes, tools can fail, but they can also really help make
sure that everything is off.

RickR

Tazz wrote:
If you are gonna trash the old liht fixture I would twist the two
wires together just in case there was a capacitor in it and someone
( maybe your kiddos ) dont pick it up and get their bell rung

On 20 Dec 2006 19:07:38 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I have a small spot light out the back of my house that has a
broken casing. So I wish to replace the entire unit. Problem here is
that I have little electrical experience.
Now I have taken the unit off the wall and can see 2 wires going into
the existing light (blue and brown). So all I really need to do is
unscrew the wires and screw them into the new unit.

Before this point I have turned off the power at the switch box and
also ensured the light switch is turned off (just in case).
To be safe, I'm just checking here because as far as I can see as long
as the power is completely off I should have no problem completing this
small task without electrocution.

Do i really need to use an insulated phillips head screwdriver for this
job?
So i wear rubber gloves or something?
any other tips?

Thanks
Luke