[hayley3]

I will have to show images so you can see what I'm talking about but I have 6 wires to attach not counting the ground wire. There are two white wires on one end and two white wires and two black wires on the other end. It's a 3 light bathroom fixture.

If the wires were longer I would just wrap the white wires around the white wire coming out of the wall and ditto for the black wires but they are so short they barely touch each other.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,
cheryl

 

[Nealtw]

Just add pigtails to one set to make them long enough.

 

[hayley3]

How? How do I turn 3 white wires into one? Same for the black?

 

[Nealtw]

How? How do I turn 3 white wires into one? Same for the black?

A pigtail is just a short piece of wire you add to the main bunch that will connect to the shorter set.

 

[hayley3]

OK ...I watched a video and my wires are too short to be grouped together. They cut them too short.

Thanks for trying to help!

 

[Nealtw]

All we can do is try.

 

[surferdude2]

When the fixture wires are too short, you must furnish some of your own wire to jumper them together. Simple, what?

 

[hayley3]

This one wire will not reach and the others are really barely touching.

 

[joed]

Use a wire nut and make it longer with another short piece of white wire.

 

[hayley3]

So then I will have 3 wire nuts on the white wires plus 2 on the black ones. Is that possible to do behind a light fixture...idk.

 

[bfrabel]

This one wire will not reach and the others are really barely touching.

Re-read the replies that you've gotten, get yourself a small length of white wire and a small length of black wire and some orange or yellow wire nuts, and see if you can put the puzzle pieces together.

It can be done, but if you still can't figure it out maybe simple wiring projects just aren't for you. That's OK. I'm sure you are good at other stuff. Call an electrician and hand over your credit card.

 

[joed]

Use as many wire nuts as you need to make the wires reach.

 

[lenaitch]

So then I will have 3 wire nuts on the white wires plus 2 on the black ones. Is that possible to do behind a light fixture...idk.

You can either use pigtail pieces on each of the whites to make them both longer or just one to make it long enough to reach the other (assuming the same for the blacks). You then need a pigtail piece to connect them to power. Small wirenuts should fit under the canopy; not ideal but it will get it done.

 

[RAL238]

Maybe this will help.

 

[FrodoOne]

This one wire will not reach and the others are really barely touching.

The "base" of that fitting appears to be quite deep and should be able to accommodate quite a number of connectors.

However, if the existing wires in the fitting cannot be joined together in the first place, it indicates a lack of quality control by the manufacturer.

150 mm (6") extra on each wire might have added $0.10 to the cost of the lamp but would have saved more than that in the cost of connectors, not to mention the time involved!

 

[surferdude2]

Have you ever wondered how the fixtures get UL approval or passed by site inspectors using the ceiling as one side of a junction box?

I got shot down on it by the inspector once and he let me use aluminum duct joint tape to coat the ceiling inside the canopy. I bought him lunch. He never came back to check. I didn't have that tape with me. I'm still planning on getting back and attending to that.

 

[surferdude2]

How many nuts does it take to hang a ceiling light? :biggrin2:

Twelve so far and counting... :vs_laugh: :vs_smirk:

This has all the making of a good joke. :wink2:

 

[Photobug]

This one wire will not reach and the others are really barely touching.

Go to the hardware store and get a wire stretcher. They can be found right next to the board stretchers.:devil3:

 

[rander101]

There are mechanical connectors that will probably meet your needs. They are called Wago Lever Nuts. See link below. They come in sizes to connect 2, 3 and 5 wires. They are easier to use that wire nuts on more than 2 wires; are mechanically more secure; easier to get into a junction box and really look neat. I prefer the larger 222 models but the smaller 221 models works fine too.

Some Home Depot stores stock them, You are more likely to find them at a professional electrical supply store. They can be found online. I've use them for several years on all kinds of electrical project without a problem.

 

[hayley3]

Okay so it's been a bit of a nightmare, first off there was no junction box in the wall, so I had to make do on that. Obviously, as Frodo alluded to, the light is junk, despite costing $69 on Amazon...It was made in China on the wrong end of town, I guess.
Thank you Rander, I was looking at those too, and didn't know the name of them.