converting ceiling fixture to plug

[CTrout]

Our apartment has no lighting in the bedrooms. The light fixture that I want to use needs to be hard wired to the ceiling, since that is not an option I went to home depot and purchased a "universal swag kit" for ceiling fans and lighting fixtures.... the package reads "perfect for moblie homes, flat roofs, and apartments where ceilings have not existing electrial supply....supply power to any ceiling fan or lighting fixture from a standard 120v wall receptacle." The cord is all white with two wires at the end one with black writing and one without... no instructions in the package.

The lighting fixture I purchased is a track lighting fixture from Ikea ...also no instructions except for safety precautions and pictures...the picture illustrates connection to the wall via hard wiring....one black and one white wire. I looked inside the piece you mount to the wall and there is in fact only two wires...one black and one white. Which wire goes with which side on the cord??? Is this ok to do with track lighting?? I don't mind the cord it's the same color as the wall and the track will mount partly to the side of one wall and I'll secure the rest of the cord along the wall with cord brackets ...I just want to make sure it's safe....?? :rolleyes:

[John Nelson]

There are several ways. (1) Look at the plug. You will see that one blade is wider than the other. The wider blade is for the neutral, the white wire. So you can use follow that side of the cord to the other end and connect it to the white wire. (2) Cord often have a tiny ridge on one of the two wires. The ridged wire is the neutral. So connect the ridged wire to the white wire. (3) Sometimes the cord will have a small stripe instead of a ridge. It serves the same purpose. (4) If that writing you refer to is along the length of the cord, it serves the same purpose as the stripe.

If you want some measure of safety, check that the kit is UL listed.