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jduke44 · Aug 1, 2005, 07:28 AM

Ok, I"ll try to explain this with the best of my ability. I have recently been trying to replace some of the light fixtures in my house. I have only lived in my house 3 months so I am not sure what I have yet. I only know it is 67 years old. What I noticed is there isn't black and white wires but more of tanish(maybe red but just faded) wires that hook up to the old light fixtures. How do I know what wires to hook up to the red and black wires on the new light fixtures? Thanks in advance.

labman · Aug 1, 2005, 08:30 AM

If there are only 2 wires, I am not sure it makes that much difference. It really should be wired with the hot wire to the base of the bulb and the neutral to the threaded part. Easiest way to sort out the wires is to use a voltage detector with the power on and the wires not touching anything. Just touch the probe to each wire and see which one makes it light up. Any home owner that intends to do much electrical work should have one. I have a Live Wire by GB, GVD-505A, less than $15 at Home Depot. Much safer and more quick than a multimeter. Of course, you need a meter for some jobs.

If the light fixture has black, red, and white wires, it is designed to have the red and black switched separately, either by 3 wires running form a wall switch, or a switch or remote build into the fixture. In that case, once you have identified the hot wire, connect the red and black wires to it.

If you have 3 wires coming from 2 switches, hook each of the tanish wires to the red or black, and see which switch does what.

If you have 3 prong plug appliances plugged into 2 prong adapters, you leave yourself exposed to shocks unless the little tab on the adapter is properly secured to a grounded outlet. I will not go into all that unless you request more details.

jduke44 · Aug 1, 2005, 08:49 AM

I think that about does it for now. I am in the middle of a few unfinished projects so I may not be able to look at it for another couple days. I'll print out your response so when I get to it I'll see if it matches up. I'll ask any more questions as it comes up. Every project that I have done so far does not seem to be standard, so it takes me longer to do them since I only know a little about these things. Thanks for your help.