DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

New overhead light fixture

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  SwiftyMcV 
#1 ·
I'm replacing an old light fixture. The old fixture was connected by the ground wire, a white wire, and one black wire. The new fixture, on the other hand, has two black wires, two white wires, and one ground wire. Is it safe to connect both black wires to the one black wire in the ceiling? And do the same with the white wires? I'm afraid this fixture may be too much for the current electrical set-up. Can anyone point me in the correct direction?:)
 
#3 ·
Does the new fixture have a light and a fan? Or a central light and also a group of accent lights or something?

It sounds like it's set up so that two parts of the fixture can be switched separately. But there should be no problem with hooking all the whites together, all the blacks together, and all the grounds together. Then everything will just turn off and on at the same time. If that's not a problem, then you're fine. Sometimes fixtures like this also have pull chains on the fixture for switching the individual lights or fan, so that if it's all wired to one wall switch, you can still turn off individual parts of the fixture.
 
#4 ·
I connected it with all blacks together and all whites together. The fixture just has two 60 watt bulbs and is on a circuit with another light fixture (that I'm switching out, next) that currently is only a 75 watt fixture. When I put turned on the switch, not a few moments later the circuit breaker popped. I replaced the two 60 watt bulbs with 40 watt bulbs and everything seems fine.
The electrician who came to our house not too long ago to replace our box indicated those lights are on the same circuit with some outlets. Is there another way to verify? I don't want to overload the circuit....
 
#6 · (Edited)
I think you have a problem that needs to be addressed. If decreasing the wattage of your fixture by 40 watts (less than half an amp) kept the breaker from tripping, then you're circuit is quite overloaded. The other possibility is that changing the bulbs was unrelated to the tripped breaker, and there's actually a wiring problem with the circuit that is causing it to trip.

You can find the other outlets and fixtures that are on this circuit by turning on the ceiling light. Then flipping off (and then back on) each breaker one by one, until the ceiling light goes off. With that breaker off, go around the house with a tester (or something you can plug into the wall), and see which plugs don't work, and switch on all light fixtures, check the fridge, etc. Write down everything that's on that circuit, and then you'll be able to figure out if the circuit is overloaded. Also look at the breaker handle, to see what amperage that circuit is rated for. (15 or 20).
 
#11 ·
Hey! I'm a woman! It was funny, though.
Anyways, one lamp, an air freshener, a tv, and DVD player are all that are plugged in. Lights are on, and the circuit hasn't tripped since that first time. If that's not too much, I think we're good to go, then. I appreciate everyone's input.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top