How do you wire light fixture with three wires when there are two house wires?

Answer 1

CAN'T. Must have 3-wire w/ground.

[First off, I want to admit that the wording of this answer is skewed. However, if you read the answer you will understand why. It is techinically correct in terms of the NEC. -TJNII]

The idiot that wired my house did this. To add insult to injury he connected the hot to one circuit and the neutral to another. I was almost electrocuted because of it.

Do it right or don't do it at all. Your negligence may kill someone.

Answer 2

Light fixtures without a ground wire might be illegal in your area - check first. If the fixture has no ground wire, it is probably an antique or has been imported illegally, depending on where you live.

The three wires in a typical house circuit (North American, 15amp) are the neutral wire (white insulation), hot or live wire (black insulation) and the ground wire (no insulation).

The two wires attached to the light fixture should also be color-coded white and black, and there should also be an uninsulated copper wire usually attached to a green screw, which is the ground wire.

Make sure the power source is disconnected by either removing the fuse at the main panel, or by shutting off the breaker to that circuit. Test the circuit to make sure it is not live.

Attach the white wire to the white wire, the black to the black and the ground to the ground, and then make sure the two ground wires together are attached to the ground screw in the junction box (j-box) that holds the light fixture to the ceiling or wall. If there is no ground wire on the fixture, still attach the ground wire from the house wiring to the j-box.

If the light fixture wires are not color-coded, the white wire (from the house wiring) attaches to the wire that attaches to the shell (threaded part) of the socket, and the black wire attaches to the fixture wire that goes to the center tap of the socket. This way, when you unscrew the light bulb you will not get a shock by touching the threads of the bulb, because the neutral (white) wire is attached to it, not the live wire (black).

Answer 3

To control a light from 3 different locations you would need to use 2 "single pole, double throw" switches and 1 "double pole, double throw" switch. If you need a wiring diagram, send an e-mail.

Answer 4

If the light fixture's third wire is a green one then it should be tied into the ground wire in the box. The bare ground wire in the box is at the back and should be looped around a green terminal screw. Tie the fixture's green ground wire to this point. Then it is just white to white and black to black.d

Answer 5

hi 3 wire cable 1 is green or green & yellow .1 is blue which is nutral.& 1 is brown which is live .

Answer 6

Your home was wired before a separate ground was required. Use Wjit to Whitw and Black to black.