Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - too many wires... Ground, no ground
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JohnnyA
08-26-04, 12:58 AM
I am trying to install an Ikea Halogen piece.
The Ceiling has 3 wires... White, Black and Ground. The IKEA piece only has White and Black. What do I do with the ground wire?
I already had them hooked up before and I just left the ground wire out. I noticed some "glowing" in the dimmer on the wall, but I am not sure if the dimmer is supposed to glow or if this is because of not have anything to connect to the ground wire.
I disconnected everything, and I am waiting for someone with some experience to help me out... Thanks!!
The Ceiling has 3 wires... White, Black and Ground. The IKEA piece only has White and Black. What do I do with the ground wire?
I already had them hooked up before and I just left the ground wire out. I noticed some "glowing" in the dimmer on the wall, but I am not sure if the dimmer is supposed to glow or if this is because of not have anything to connect to the ground wire.
I disconnected everything, and I am waiting for someone with some experience to help me out... Thanks!!
Trying2Help
08-30-04, 02:46 PM
Just moving your post back to the top and seeing if I get you more help.
Dimmer switches are not suppose to glow, inless they have a miniture light in them for location purposes at night with all the lights off.
I would think you have everything hooked up okay. The ground (bare) wire from the box should be tied in with a green wire from the light fixure or to the case of the fixture.
The glowing, could be because the wattage rating on the dimmer is not high enough to support the fixture, or it is defective and is arcing inside. Neither of which is a good thing! Glowing without the aforementioned minilight, means it is is getting hot and could cause a fire!! Does it get hot to the touch?
Dimmer switches are not suppose to glow, inless they have a miniture light in them for location purposes at night with all the lights off.
I would think you have everything hooked up okay. The ground (bare) wire from the box should be tied in with a green wire from the light fixure or to the case of the fixture.
The glowing, could be because the wattage rating on the dimmer is not high enough to support the fixture, or it is defective and is arcing inside. Neither of which is a good thing! Glowing without the aforementioned minilight, means it is is getting hot and could cause a fire!! Does it get hot to the touch?
ampz
08-31-04, 07:30 PM
Need alot more info. First, what type of fixture is it {i.e flurorescent or incandescent} & whta is the max.wattage. Was the dimmer already in use & does it have a "nite-lite" feature {allows it to glow when the light is off}. A standard {incandescent} dimmer cannot be used on flurorescent fixtures.There should be a screw {green in color} where the connections are made,this is the ground connection.Unless you connected it with the power off you may have burned-out the dimmer.A dimmers circuitry will often burn out because it cannot handle the inrush of current if connected "hot".