Use Romex to rewire that old light fixture for safety.
Romex is a type of wire that is used primarily for home wiring. It's a term for nonmetallic sheathed cable. Three wires are inside a protective coating that keeps the wires protected from the elements. There is a black wire, a white wire and a bare, or ground, wire. Romex wire is not for use in buildings taller than three stories. The two standard sizes of Romex wire are 14/2, which is used for 15-amp circuits, and 12/2, which is used for 20-amp circuits. Use the right wire for the circuit.
Instructions
1. Measure along the wiring route from the light to the light switch with your tape measure. Add a few feet to that measurement to make sure you have enough. It must be one piece of wire without any splicing of wires to lengthen it. Turn the main power off at the fuse box to avoid accidental shocks.
2. Cut the wire to length with wire cutters. Feed the wire through the wall or ceiling, starting from the light fixture. Make sure to give yourself a little extra wire at the light end for you to work with. Do not connect the Romex to the switch box. Let it hang down beside the box until the end of the wiring process.
3. Prepare the wires for connecting to the light fixture first. Using the knife, carefully cut approximately 6 inches of the outer coating off the Romex. Spread the three wires apart. Remove approximately 3/4 inch of coating off the black and white wires with your wire strippers. Twist each braided wire separately between your thumb and forefinger to stop the wire from separating.
4. Bend the black wire from the Romex around the bronze screw on the light fixture and tighten the screw. Repeat the process with the white wire, attaching it to the silver screw on the light fixture. Bend the bare copper wire around and under the large-head ground screw and screw it in firmly inside the electrical box. If your fixture has a black and white wire coming out of it, twist the wires together. Twist the black wire of the fixture to the black wire of the Romex and screw on an electrical grommet. Do the same with the two white wires. Attach the bare copper wire to the ground screw in the electrical box. If there is a ground wire from the fixture, attach that to the ground screw in the electrical box.
5. Tuck the wires into the light's electrical box with your fingers while fitting the light fixture into position. Screw the light fixture in place.
6. Repeat Step 3 for the Romex wire at the light-switch end. Unscrew the light switch from the wall and attach the black wire of the Romex to the bronze screw of the light switch and tighten the screw. Attach the white wire to the silver screw. Tighten the bare copper wire to the switch box with the .
7. Repeat Steps 1 through 6 to wire the switch to the fuse box with Romex. Once you have the wire from the switch to the fuse box wired, screw the back in place. Screw a bulb into the light fixture. Turn the power back on at the fuse box and turn on the light at the switch.
Tags: light fixture, black wire, light switch, ground screw, white wire, wire from