When wiring a light fixture, you need to know what type of wires are coming from the ceiling. If you have red, black, and white wires coming from your ceiling, you need to wire your light accordingly. A standard light fixture has neutral (black) and hot (red) wires. When wiring a light fixture with red, black, and white wires, you need to keep the red wire for the hot or voltage source, the black wire for the neutral source, and the white wire for illumination. It’s not difficult to do; however, if it’s your first time wiring a light fixture there are some important things to consider before beginning this project. In this article, we will discuss how to wire a light fixture with red, black, and white wires safely so as not to give yourself an electrical shock or start a fire.
How To Wire A Light Fixture With Red, Black, And White Wires?
- You may use a wire stripper to strip off the outer rubber coating of the wires.
- Now, using a wire cutter, cut two black wires to length as per your length requirement.
- After cutting the black wires, you can twist them together and then wrap them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent them from fraying and contact with other metal surfaces.
- Cut your white wire in half, and strip off its outer rubber coating using a wire stripper.
- Next, you need to cut one red wire into two pieces at its center point for receiving electricity from the electrical outlet (one end of the red wire should be longer than the other).
- 6. Now attach one end of each white wire with a black one by twisting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent contact with other metal surfaces (if you don’t do this step correctly, then there’s a high probability that your light fixture will not work).
- Now attach one end of each red wire with its corresponding white wire by twisting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent contact with other metal surfaces (if you don’t do this step correctly, then there’s a high probability that your light fixture will not work).
- Attach the longer end of each black wire in an electrical box by screwing it into an outlet-box connector that is mounted on an electrical box (make sure that there are no loose strands of wire and that the wires are in a straight line).
- Attach the other end of each black wire with its corresponding red wire by twisting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent contact with other metal surfaces (if you don’t do this step correctly, then there’s a high probability that your light fixture will not work).
- Now attach the long end of each red wire to its corresponding white wire by twisting them together and wrapping them with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to prevent contact with other metal surfaces (if you don’t do this step correctly, then there’s a high probability that your light fixture will not work).
- Finally, screw an electrical outlet box connector into an electrical box (make sure that there are no loose strands of wire and that the wires are in a straight line).
- Once you’ve completed the wiring, then attach your light fixture with the electrical outlet box connector (make sure that there are no loose strands of wire and that the wires are in a straight line).
Make Sure The Power Is Off Before You Begin
- You must turn off the power to the fixture before attempting to rewire it.
- Turn off the power at the circuit breaker and then test for power with a voltage tester.
- If you have any doubts about your ability to perform this job, hire a professional to do it for you.
- Make sure all wires are labeled as you remove them so that you can easily identify each one later on when connecting them back into their proper place in the new fixture.
- Strip insulation from ends of wires using wire strippers or stripping tools, keeping in mind that black is hot, white is neutral and red is always hot and connected to a brass-colored screw-on the fixture (if your light has one).
- Twist the bare wire ends together inside the wire nut, making sure that the color of each wire is matched with another of the same color inside the nut (black with black, white with white, red with red). Hold nut with pliers while twisting wires together tightly by hand until each one is secure.7. Slip wire nut over the bare end of each wire and tighten down securely by hand (don’t use pliers because they might cut into the plastic coating on wires) until it grips all four strands of wire securely and there’s no chance that bare copper will touch anything else (this could cause a shock).
- Apply electrical tape around the base of every light bulb socket before installing light bulbs because sockets are more likely to spark when they’re empty.
- Install light bulbs carefully, making sure that the wires aren’t touching anything else and that there are no bare copper wires exposed.
- Turn the power on at the circuit breaker and test your new light fixture before hanging it on the wall or ceiling.
Know Your Fixture And How Many Wires Are Coming From The Ceiling
- Turn off the power to the light fixture at your home’s circuit breaker. If you are unsure how to do this, call an electrician.
- Remove the light fixture from the ceiling using a screwdriver, if necessary.
- Check how many wires are coming into the light fixture from the ceiling, and identify which ones are black, white and red.
- Use your wire stripper to strip enough insulation off each wire so you can twist them together tightly without exposing any of the copper wiring inside.
- Twist together one black wire with one white wire and one red wire using a screwdriver or pliers in a clockwise direction until they are as tight as possible without exposing any of the copper wires inside of them, and then wrap electrical tape around all three wires at least once for added protection against short circuiting or loose connections
- Put the light fixture back up on your ceiling by screwing it back in place, being careful not to let any of its new connections touch anything metal in your home’s walls or other fixtures
- Turn on your lights and check that they work properly by flipping switches and pressing buttons on any nearby wall switches or dimmer switches that may be installed in your home.
- If the light fixture does not work properly, check to make sure all of its wires are tight and secure and that none of them have come loose from underneath the electrical tape you placed around them.
- If you find any loose wires, turn off your home’s power again, fix the problem, and then turn your power back on again before proceeding to test your fixture once more.
- If your light fixture still does not work properly after repeating this process several times, call an electrician to check it out for you.
Summing It Up
Wiring a light fixture with red, black, and white wires isn’t difficult once you know which wires go where. The most important thing to remember is that you don’t want to let the black, red, and white wires touch each other. If these wires touch each other, you have what is called a “hot neutral” and that is extremely dangerous because it can cause a fire.