Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - what's a red wire in a junction box?

Hello;
I'm installing a simple white-black-green light fixture....but I have white, black and a single RED wire coming out from the ceiling....what's the red one? I know the green is ground but how do the others get wired-up???
Thanks in advance!!:confused:

Red is typically a second hot, like to have separate switches on the wall for a ceiling fan and light. Without such, it's usually left capped.

The answer depends on the wiring at the switch and on what was connected to the light you removed.

Depending on the setup, the red wire may be switched and the black wire may be always hot, or the they both may be switched,...

The book you read on home wiring before you started this project discussed this. You did read a book right? You really should not be attempting this without having done some reading first.

Electricity can and does kill people.

Hello;
I capped the red and put black on black and white on white but the light just stays on....it will not shut off?
I tried to do some reading first, but found nothing on the Net about the red wire...please help again....

What is hooked up at the switch?

one red & one black

The red wire is switched hot and the black wire is always hot, as I suggested in my post.

Go and buy a book on home wiring. Trying things can easily get you killed. The book Wiring Simplified is a good one to start with.

ANY book on home wiring would have led you to the correct wiring and you would have been done by now and learned more in the process.

Electricity can and does kill people.

so red is switched and black is hot.....

does this mean my white (from fixture) goes to the red and the black (from fixture) goes to the black....white (from ceiling) just gets capped right?

I understand your point about reading.....but I just want the stupid fixture up and over with.

you've proven your point and I WILL be buying "wiring simplified" before I buy my house.

**so can someone map-out in words how to finish this project?**

The white wire of your fixture is a neutral wire. It gets connected to the neutral wire in the ceiling, which is the white wire. Neutral wires do not get connected to hot wires.

The black wire of your fixture is for the hot wire. If you want the light switched then connect it to the switched hot wire in the ceiling,which is the red wire. If you want the light always on then connect it to the always hot wire in the ceiling, which is the black wire.

The green wire of your fixture is a ground wire. It gets connected to the ground wire in the ceiling box, which is the bare copper wire, a green wire or (if the house is old enough) not present. If there is no ground wire in the ceiling box then connect the ground wire of the fixture to the box, if the box is metal.

It's complete as per your advice and works properly....now I can sleep tonight not worrying about a fire due to imporper installation.
Thanks again very much!
-Gary.

I WILL be buying "wiring simplified" before I buy my house.


This bothers me. Are you telling us that you are working on the electrical system in a RENTED house or apartment?

If yes, this is an absolute no no.