Rewiring a floor lamp can add years to its useable life.
Indoor home floor lamps use standard electrical hardware and a 120-volt power cord for wiring. Rewiring an old floor lamp can bring new life to an old fixture. All parts needed for the project are typically available at hardware and electrical supply stores. As with any electrical wiring project, follow all safety precautions when connecting wires to the lamp socket. Buy a power cord long enough to extend the length of the lamp post with enough left over to reach the wall socket where you wish to place the lamp.
Instructions
1. Unplug the lamp's current power cord from the wall socket.
2. Unscrew the lightbulb and remove the lampshade.
3. Loosen the screw in the side of the bulb socket where it attaches to the top of the lamp post. Pull the socket off the post.
4. Slide the metal collar off the socket and remove the tube insulator underneath to expose the two wires attached to the socket by screws.
5. Loosen the two screws with a screwdriver to remove the wires from the old socket. Make a note of which wire is connected to which screw as an aid to rewiring the new socket.
6. Pull the power cord out of the lamp post from the base of the lamp.
7. Insert the new power cord through the hole in the base of the lamp and thread the two wires on the end into the bottom of the lamp post. Push the cord gradually through the lamp post until the two wires at the end emerge through the top of the post.
8. Remove 1/2-inch of insulation from each wire with the wire strippers.
9. Wrap a wire around its corresponding screw terminal on the new lightbulb socket and tighten each screw.
10. Slide the insulator tube over the wiring and slide the metal collar over the insulator tube.
11. Lower the new socket onto the top of the lamp post and secure it by tightening the screw in the side of the socket.
12. Screw in a new light bulb and replace the lamp shade before plugging in the power cord to a wall outlet.
Tags: lamp post, power cord, base lamp, floor lamp, insulator tube, metal collar, Rewiring floor