This heavy-duty suspended light would need two to remove.
A suspended ceiling light usually has a canopy that is flush mounted to the ceiling. A rod or chain runs through the canopy. At the end of the chain hangs the light sockets and the decorative fixture. In this way the light is suspended below the ceiling itself. If any of these components break, the entire fixture may need to be replaced. Fortunately, replacing a suspended ceiling light does not take too long, so long as you have enough strength to hold the ceiling light and can reach the ceiling.
Instructions
1. Turn off the power to the suspended light by switching the appropriate breaker switch to off.
2. Set up the ladder below the suspended light and climb it with your circuit tester and crescent wrench. If your was broken, test that the circuit hasn't shorted into the canopy by testing the volts of the canopy itself with the circuit tester. This is a safety precaution. If your circuit tester reads 0, use the crescent wrench to loosen the canopy nut holding the canopy to the ceiling by turning counterclockwise.
3. Let the canopy dangle down on the chain or down rod and note the wiring below the cross bar which holds the suspended light fixture to the ceiling. There should be pairs of white and black wires. A green or bare wire from the ceiling may be connected to a screw on the cross bar, or a green wire from the light fixture. Use the circuit tester to make sure all of these circuits read 0. Use the lead of the hot, or black, wires to test the circuit. Note that the black wire from the ceiling may be red, but this is still the hot wire.
4. Disconnect the white and black wires by unscrewing the wire nuts and pulling apart the leads. If the light fixture has a green wire, disconnect this one as well.
5. Have a friend hold the light fixture while you unscrew the two Phillips head screws mounting the cross bar to the ceiling joists. If you have the strength to unscrew the screws and hold the fixture yourself, do so. Bring the cross bar and light fixture to the floor.
6. Loosen the collar cap on the bolt and lock nut holding the bolt to the cross bar. Take the bolt off the cross bar. Set the old fixture with the bolt aside. Insert the threaded bolt of the replacement light fixture through the relief hole in the cross bar. Tighten the bolt with the lock nut and collar cap using the wrench and turning clockwise.
7. Carry the light fixture, cross bar, mounting hardware, and screwdriver up the ladder. Be careful that the weight isn't too much to remain steady on the ladder. Align the cross bar with the holes in the joist, and screw the cross bar into the joist. Have a friend hold the fixture if it's too heavy. Allow the fixture to dangle down on its chain or rod.
8. Connect the wires of the replacement fixture with the wires from the ceiling. Connect white to white and black to black or red. Connect the green ground wire from the ceiling to the green wire from the replacement fixture, or the green screw on the crossbar. Use the wire nuts to cover the lead connections and use electrical tape over the wire nuts or bad insulation to ensure no shorts occur in the circuit. Push all of the wires above the cross bar into the outlet box in the ceiling.
9. Tighten the canopy nut of the replacement fixture over the canopy to press the canopy flush with the ceiling so that the wires and mounting hardware are invisibly to the viewer.
Tags: light fixture, suspended light, wire from, circuit tester, from ceiling