Doug Hewitt has been writing for 20 years and has a Master of Arts from UNC-Greensboro. He authored the book The Practical Guide to Weekend Parenting, which includes health and fitness hints for parents. He and his wife, Robin, are co-authors of the Free College Resource Book.
SUPPLIES
- AC Voltmeter
- Wire Stripper
- Screwdriver
Overview
A new bathroom light fixture can bring a new look to a remodeled bathroom. A new light fixture can also have an extra electrical outlet where you need to plug in a shaver or other bathroom device. It could be that your old bathroom fixture is broken. Whether you are remodeling or simply have a broken bathroom light fixture, knowing how to wire the light fixture yourself can save the cost and time of trying to find someone qualified to do the job.
Step 1
Make sure the electricity is turned off to the light fixture. You can turn off the electricity to the light fixture by turning off the appropriate circuit breaker in the breaker box. Double check that the electricity is turned off by pressing AC voltmeter probes to the wires at the light fixture and finding no voltage present.
Step 2
Feed the AC wires at the bathroom fixture wall opening into the light fixture. The wires should be near the light fixture's wire terminals, which are silver and gold colored screws. The green screw is for the ground wire, which is also green, and can be mounted at various places in the fixture's terminal box but is usually near the feed-through hole.
Step 3
Strip the wire coating from the end of the wires to expose enough bare metal to wrap around the terminal screws. Exposing excess bare metal can cause an electrical short.
Step 4
Wrap the wires around the appropriate terminal screw. The black wire is AC hot and should be wrapped around the gold colored screw. The white wire is AC neutral and should be wrapped around the silver colored screw. The green wire should be wrapped around the green screw.
Step 5
Tighten the terminal screws so that the bare metal wires are pressed tightly against the terminals.
Step 6
Install the cover plate and housing over the light fixture's terminal box.
Step 7
Turn the circuit breaker on in the breaker box. Check to see if your light fixture is working properly by turning its power switch on.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : Keep loose hardware such as screws in a small cup so that they don't get lost.
- WARNING : Live AC voltage is dangerous. Make sure there is no live voltage present at the light fixture before beginning work.
Resources
