repairing entry light?

darsunt

I have an entry light next to the front door that is partially torn off the wall. Does anyone know any resources about how these things are mounted, so that I can get a feel for what I'm dealing with before I try to fix it next week?

The wiring shouldn't be hard, it's the mounting. Someone at a hardware store mentioned I might need to use a tap??

mikemy6

Hi
your new light fixture will come w/a new mouting bracket the old ones screws may be rusted in.if the screws break (the screws holding the bracket to the box) then drill them out using a slightly smaller drill bit. replace them w/a self tapping screw of the same diameter about 1/2 " long.Allthe rest is explaned in the instructions, If their's no box your just going to have to use long wood screws to screw the fixture to the ext. wall.

darsunt

Sounds right. Next week I'll shut off the breakers, remove that damaged light completely and see.

I can see a plate behind it, its at an angle with some screw on it. But there are two long skinny threaded bolts (nipples?) coming out that are the main support for the light. One is bent. Neither seem to be attached to the damaged plate, but to something behind it.

Just got to take it all off and have a good look.

mikemy6

you can just shut off the switch, and tape it down if anyone is home at the time. one more thing did your storm door damage your light? If so shorten the chain spring gizmo at the top of the door.

jwhite

What and prey that the original electrician did not run his feed to the light and a switch leg to the switch??????

Always shut the power off to the circuit/circuits being worked on AT THE BREAKER BOX.

__________________
Master Electrician

mikemy6

True, thanks, I got one of those voltage pens as I call them years ago I said to the guy who sold it to me (do these things really work) and he held it up to the flourecent light and it started flashing I said (gimme one). Every DIYer should have one.

Safety First

JohnJ0906

Get a real tester. I, and most other electricians I know have one of those things. And we all know just how unreliable they are. I do not trust them. Please get something better.

mikemy6, try rubbing that thing on your pants leg-it will indicate voltage! You had better belive there are times it WON'T indicate when there IS voltage.

__________________
John from Baltimore
One Day at a Time
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

"Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else"
"The bitterness of low quality lingers long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten"

mikemy6

Yea I got a fluke clamp its old but i get around to get it calibrated obout once a year its digital the only reason I think I may replace it is for something W/a capp tester maybe an Irwin

mikemy6

sorry John hadto run out and fix a light, only got shocked once (HAAA)
So anywho any idea's on a good meter I have multi-meters but Im looking for a quality clamp type as i said with a cap. tester built in should i stick W/ Fluke? Some of the sperry, green lee stuff is looking cheesy. I did alot of AC installs so my old meter was great too just hang off a leg and check amps vs pressure but lately ive been getting alot of troubleshooting calls (no, not from my installs) so I think an upgrade is in order.
By the way if you rub that thing on my pant leg Ill show you something shocking.Anyway I think it just the static charge overwhelming the mico-volt switch and throwing it into test mode.

That line about experience is one of the best.
Gotta go powder my nose.
Bu By

darsunt

I'll shut off the breakers. I've done lots of repairs, and I try to make things as safe as possible since I make plenty of mistakes.

Also I'm not like some of these crazy contractors who've been doing it so long they don't even CARE about safety anymore.

darsunt

Well, got it done. It went pretty much like mikemy6 said, except 2 things:

The damn mounting bracket didn't fit into the stucco hole around the box - had to work around it.

The manufacturer assumed the holes in the box would be aligned off horizontal, but they weren't. So the mounting bracket blocked adjusting the fixture bolt height. Had to hacksaw the damn bolts to the correct size and use washers. What a pain!

jwhite

Glad to hear that things worked out well. As for the fixture bolts, I find that most times they need to be cut to lenght.

__________________
Master Electrician