Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Light Won't Turn Off
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mgibs
10-25-05, 12:50 PM
Hello,
I am having trouble installing a Hampton Bay 3 light bath fixture above my vanity. A contractor took out the old light so i was unable to see how it was wired. Out of the wall there are, 2 whites, 2 blacks and 2 grounds. The fixture has only one white and one black. I hooked it up using only one white to one white and one black to one black and it worked but would not turn off at the switch. I then tried a combination of things, culminating in two black to the fixture's one black and the two white to the fixture's one white that would not even let me flip back on the switch at the electrical box. I did not connect the grounds to anything that were coming out of the wall. Any suggestions or did I not give enough information? Thank you in advance.
I am having trouble installing a Hampton Bay 3 light bath fixture above my vanity. A contractor took out the old light so i was unable to see how it was wired. Out of the wall there are, 2 whites, 2 blacks and 2 grounds. The fixture has only one white and one black. I hooked it up using only one white to one white and one black to one black and it worked but would not turn off at the switch. I then tried a combination of things, culminating in two black to the fixture's one black and the two white to the fixture's one white that would not even let me flip back on the switch at the electrical box. I did not connect the grounds to anything that were coming out of the wall. Any suggestions or did I not give enough information? Thank you in advance.
John Nelson
10-25-05, 01:01 PM
Extremely common symptoms. You have a switch loop. If you look at your switch, you'll see that there is only one cable to it, with one black wire and one white wire, both connected to the switch.
At your light fixture, one black/white pair is the power supply, and one black/white pair is the switch loop. You need to figure out which is which with certainty. Don't guess. If you have an electrical tester of any type, it will be easy. Otherwise, just connect your fixture to one black/white pair (leaving the other pair unconnected to anything) and turn on the breaker. If the light comes on, then the pair you picked is the power supply.
Once you have identified the cables, and turned the breaker back off again: Connect power supply black to switch loop white. Neither of these connects to the fixture. Connect power supply white to fixture white. Connect switch loop black to fixture black.Note that if you mix up which cable is which, the light will appear to work correctly anyway, but it won't be safe.
At your light fixture, one black/white pair is the power supply, and one black/white pair is the switch loop. You need to figure out which is which with certainty. Don't guess. If you have an electrical tester of any type, it will be easy. Otherwise, just connect your fixture to one black/white pair (leaving the other pair unconnected to anything) and turn on the breaker. If the light comes on, then the pair you picked is the power supply.
Once you have identified the cables, and turned the breaker back off again: Connect power supply black to switch loop white. Neither of these connects to the fixture. Connect power supply white to fixture white. Connect switch loop black to fixture black.Note that if you mix up which cable is which, the light will appear to work correctly anyway, but it won't be safe.