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    shameful's Avatar
    shameful Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Feb 19, 2012, 11:35 AM
    Changing a light fixture that is old
    Trying to replace an old light fixture was never like this. When I took down the old light it had 3 bulbs. The new one has 2 bulbs. The biggest problem that I cannot understand is there were 2 black wires rolled together, 2 white wires rolled together and 1 RED wire? They were capped off. So I tried to hook up a new light fixture which of course had 1 white wire, 1 black wire, and 1 copper ground wire. Well it through the breaker, and scared me to peases. So I took it back down and turned the breaker off and capped the wires. What the heck is going on? What is the red wire? And why are there 2 white and 2 black and a RED WIRE?
    ma0641's Avatar
    ma0641 Posts: 15,675, Reputation: 1012
    Uber Member
    		  
    #2

    Feb 20, 2012, 06:47 AM
    How was the old fixture connected? Red wire usually indicates a 3 way switch in the circuit. Do you have a tester,-VOM? You will need to find the hot switched lead.
    creahands's Avatar
    creahands Posts: 2,854, Reputation: 195
    Ultra Member
    		  
    #3

    Feb 20, 2012, 06:59 AM
    If there is a switch in room, how many wires in switch box?

    If only one set of wires ( 1 black, 1 white and 1 ground), this is a switch leg.

    Brian is right. When u have a red wire also usually a three way switch. Do u have another switch at other end of room?

    Chuck
    tommybwiz's Avatar
    tommybwiz Posts: 58, Reputation: 2
    Junior Member
    		  
    #4

    Feb 20, 2012, 07:53 PM
    Not sure how you connected it, but the black wire may be a feed through hot to something else. Try hooking up the new light white to the whites, the new light black to the red. The red may be the switch leg if this was wired with 12/3 or 14/3.
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