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Easy for you but hard for me. Pendent light

987 views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  mailbox14 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I just bought a pendant ceiling light fixture and it came with a Black, White, Green and Long Copper Wire. The copper wire is connected to a screw on the fixture plate/cover (cover that covers the ceiling hole).

My ceiling/electrical box is metal and has a black, white and bare copper wire in which part of copper wire is wrapped around a screw on the electrical box but the rest of it is exposed and long enough to stick out of the box.

Now, I have connected the pendant light as follows and it seems to work.

Black to black,
White to white
Copper wire on the fixture to a metal bar included with the light that had a green screw on it that is used to secure the fixture plate so it holds.

The green wire I left exposed and the bare copper wire coming from the electrical box I left exposed.

What I am unsure of now is whether I should have connected both the copper wire and green wire coming from the fixture together and then to the green screw while leaving the copper wire from the electrical box exposed as it was because it already has one wrap around a screw on the electrical box.

If someone could give me some assurance that would be great as I am a novice?

Thanks
 
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#3 ·
Thanks Jim,

I guess I have to open it up again :smile:, splice all the "ground" wires together and add them to the screw.

I figured that if I ground at least the copper wire from the fixture and the electrical box is already grounded, I could get away with leaving the green wire exposed.

I guess I was wrong and rather be safe.

Thanks so much for your help.
 
#4 ·
You are safe as you wired it, But since the Green is there go ahead and wire nut it to the bare copper one, to tie it in.


ED
 
#5 ·
SOrry De-nagorg,

I just want to be crystal clear before I close it up, you mean take the copper wire and green wire from the fixture AND the copper wire from the electrical box and put a wire nut on it rather then fasten them to the green screw?

Is that what you mean?

Thanks,
 
#6 ·
Ground wire must be connected to the metal box. Wrap bare ground wire form cable under green screw as far back from the end as you can. Tighten screw, then connect bare and green wire from light to the end of bare wire from cable with wire nut.
 
#7 ·
Strouds way will work.

I meant to wrap some of that extra bare copper you said you had, around the green screw, then the other bare and the green wire nutted onto it.

They are all tied together either way..



ED
 
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