How to replace a light fixture in my home safely?

by delavin home
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Sources
How to Replace a Light Fixture (DIY) - Wiring - Family Handyman
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www.familyhandyman.com
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1
How to Change a Light Fixture — DIY Guide - GE Lighting
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www.gelighting.com
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2
Light fixtures can make or break a space. Here's how to change one ...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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3
How to Change a Ceiling Light Fixture - Lowe's
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www.lowes.com
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4
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Answer
Replacing a light fixture in your home can be a relatively simple DIY project if you follow the necessary safety precautions and steps. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you replace a light fixture safely:

Safety Precautions

  1. Turn off the power: Locate your home's circuit panel and switch off the power for the circuit where the fixture is located. Use a voltage tester to ensure there is no electricity present245.
  2. Use a voltage tester: Confirm that the power is off by using a non-contact voltage detector124.
  3. Wear a headlamp or use a work light: This will help you see what you're doing while the lights are off4.

Steps to Replace a Light Fixture

  1. Remove decorative parts: Take out any detachable parts from the existing fixture, such as light bulbs, glass light covers, or shades25.
  2. Remove the canopy piece: Unscrew the decorative plate or canopy piece that covers the exposed hardware in the ceiling or wall25.
  3. Remove wiring: Carefully unscrew the caps or connectors and separate the fixture wiring from the ceiling. Take note of how the wires are attached25.
  4. Remove the old fixture: Unscrew the mounting bracket from the ceiling fixture box and carefully lower the fixture25.
  5. Measure and cut wires: If necessary, measure the length you want the new fixture to hang from the ceiling and cut the wires accordingly25.
  6. Install the new fixture: Mount the new fixture to the ceiling fixture box and connect the wires. Ensure secure connections using wire connectors25.
  7. Turn on the power: Once the new fixture is fully installed, return to the circuit box and turn the power back on25.

Additional Tips

  • Use the right tools: Ensure you have the necessary tools, such as a voltage tester, wire strippers, wire connectors, and needle nose pliers25.
  • Consult a professional if needed: If you're unsure about any part of the process or if your home's wiring appears incompatible with the new fixture, consider hiring a licensed electrician245.
  • Follow manufacturer's instructions: Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for the specific light fixture you're installing4.
By following these steps and safety precautions, you can safely replace a light fixture in your home.

References

1. How to Replace a Light Fixture (DIY) - Wiring - Family Handyman2. How to Change a Light Fixture — DIY Guide - GE Lighting3. Light fixtures can make or break a space. Here's how to change one ...4. How to Change a Ceiling Light Fixture - Lowe's5. How to Change a Light Fixture Without Hiring an Electrician



Author: LRN2DIY



Key insights

  • It's always a good idea to be extra safe when working with electricity, so make sure to switch off the appropriate circuit breaker before starting the replacement.
  • Using a voltage meter is a handy and inexpensive way to ensure there is no current running through the fixture before replacing it.
  • The new decorative caps fit perfectly onto the existing screws, saving time and effort in the installation process.
  • Fastening the strain relief cable onto the plate is crucial for safety, ensuring that the fixture can still hang if something comes completely undone.
  • The neutral wire is always white, the line is black, and the bare wire is the ground.
  • It's important to make sure that the wires aren't touching each other as far as the exposed portions when installing a light fixture.
  • The process of replacing a light fixture can be done quickly and easily in under 10 minutes.
  • Moving on to outdoor light fixtures can be the next DIY project after mastering indoor ones.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Replace a light fixture by turning off the circuit breaker, removing decorative caps, and being cautious with the wires.
  • 00:54 Remove old light fixture, test for current, and replace with new fixture in under 10 minutes.
  • 01:27 Use the new decorative caps on the existing screws without removing them.
  • 01:58 Replace the light fixture by removing the old one, placing the bulbs in while it's on the ground, and fastening the strain relief cable onto the plate.
  • 02:42 Connect the labeled wires to power the fixture, with white for neutral, black for line/load, and bare wire for ground.
  • 03:12 Secure the wires with wire nuts, check that they're holding, stuff them back in the junction box, and attach the plate with screws.
  • 03:51 Push the caps to tighten the fixture in place and adjust the height as needed.
  • 04:30 Replace a light fixture in under 10 minutes and then move on to outdoor fixtures.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 This is how to change a light fixture from this... to this. This requires very little as far as tools, so let's jump right in. Now, the first thing we need to do is get ourselves safe. So what we're going to do is leave the lights on while we go to the circuit breaker box and switch off the appropriate circuit breaker. It's always a good idea to be extra safe. So if you have a voltage meter or a circuit tester, we'll be using that in just a moment here as well. Now to remove the old fixture, it's pretty common to have some decorative caps like these here. So we're going to start by removing those. Here we go. Okay. And typically this wire right here is going to be weight-bearing. So a lot of times this will actually hold a lot of the weight, but we want to try not to put any strain or stress on that. So let's pull out these wire caps that are in here.
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  • 00:54 So all you need to do is release all three of these. Untwist them from each other, and then the whole thing should be able to come free. Okay. And that's that. Out with the old. Alright, I forgot to mention this before, but you do want to always test. I've got a little voltage meter here and I'm just going to test to see if there's anything lighting up and it should definitely be off. And we're going to test both directions just to be sure. And it looks like we're good. This would light up if there was any sort of current running through there, and these are really handy. They're really inexpensive too.
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  • 01:27 I'll put a link to one of these in the description below. Next, I went and fetched the plate that comes with the new light fixture. And I noticed that the two screws that are mounted with a new cap, these caps fit on just like this. They look to be about the exact same distance as the ones that are there now. So I don't actually need to take this out in this case, but just to make sure I'm going to test fit. My new decorative caps right onto the screws or the posts that are coming out here. Yep. So these thread right on there just perfectly. So we can actually just leave this one in place and we don't even need to use this one at all.
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  • 01:58 Now, if you don't have a good fit here, then you can actually just replace this. You can take out the couple of screws that are holding it in and put this one in, in its place. Now, another quick tip, it's always easiest to place your bulbs in while the fixture is on the ground and not mounted. That way, you don't have to worry about trying to put those bulbs in while it's mounted to the ceiling. Okay. The first thing you want to do with the new fixture is fasten the strain relief cable. That's this one right here. And it's, you can see that it's fastened right onto the plate here. And there's a couple of ways you can do this, but oftentimes you're going to have a screw that goes in here. That's a for ground. If you don't have a ground, so this will work perfect for fastening this on. Now that's there, so if something comes completely undone, it can still hang by this.
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  • 02:42 Even if all the wiring comes done and the caps come off and everything, it's kind of a security or a fail safe. Next, we're going to take the wires that are powering the fixture and put those in place. On this InLight fixture, it's really nice, they actually label everything. So you've got the L for Line the N for Neutral, and then the green, there's a little green. Cord on this one to let you know that that's the ground. So the neutral is always going to be white. The line is going to be black that's line or load. And then the bare wire is our ground.
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  • 03:12 So we're just going to fasten these up, using the wire nuts that came with it. Now, one thing I like to do. Once the caps are all on is. I'll give a little pull on each of the wires to make sure they're not going to easily come out. Because the last thing you want is for these to just pop free once you stuffed them back in the junction box. It looks like these are all holding on together really nicely. So at this point, we're going to stuff all of this back in. We're going to make sure that the wires aren't touching each other as far as the exposed portions anyway, and then I've got two holes on my plate. And those are the holes that we saw before that those screws can go through.
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  • 03:51 So there's one, there's the other. Here we go. I'm blocking your view a little bit, but there you go. You can see that there's the two studs poking through. So now I'm going to take the caps that came with the kit. Now, Inlight designed this particular fixture with three cables to mount everything. And it's a one-way push. So basically if I want to tighten these up, I can actually just push up and then they don't pull back down anymore. They snug in place, right where they were. So I'm going to lift this up to where we want. It cause right. Now. It's hanging way too low. And then we'll go from there.
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  • 04:30 And with that, we can flip on the circuit breaker again. Ta-da, everything's looking good. So now our new light fixture is in place. And this thing is all set. Now that you know how to conquer indoor light fixtures, it's time to move on to outdoor light fixtures. You can check out this video right here, where I'll walk you through it. Step-by-step I'm Nils with LRN2DIY. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you on the next one.
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