[bungalowgirl]

I'm replacing an old light fixture in my bathroom.

The light hangs above a mirror. The black & white wires run across about 1" of wall below it to get to the outlet box behind the mirror.

New light has a black, white and bare ground.

Can I run the ground across 1" of wall to mount it to the ground in the outlet box?

It seems safe, but since it's bare and in a sometimes damp bathroom it makes me nervous.

Should I wrap it in electrical tape where it's exposed, or just tuck it inside the light fixture & leave it ungrounded?

 

[rgsgww]

A white and black wire is running behind the wall into the outlet box? Wires cannot be ran in such a way, they need to be in a cable, like romex.

Is there a way you can get pictures?

 

[bungalowgirl]

A black & white wire is running in front of the wall. Picture as requested!

The ground is on the left, wrapped in black electrical tape. Regular black & white on right. A mirror covers all of this and runs flush under the light fixture.

 

[rgsgww]

That doesn't look very good...Do you think you can run romex (a type of cable) inside the wall to your fixture?

That looks like a fire hazard.

I hope that isn't your work BTW.

 

[bungalowgirl]

Do you mean connect those to a romex, drop it in the wall, and connect the other end of the romex to the outlet box? Possibly, but I hesitate because I rent.

Just curious, which part is a fire hazard? The ground?

 

[bungalowgirl]

Re: "I hope that isn't your work BTW."

Original was wired that way without the ground. I'm asking if it's okay to do it this way with the addition of the ground, taped off in that manner.

 

[220/221]

With or without a ground, it is not OK to do it that way. Relocate the box to the proper position, behind the light.

 

[bungalowgirl]

Lovely. That means buying a new mirror, the existing one is too tall.

Whole apt is rigged like this. Ceiling light in kitchen is mounted to a ceiling tile, no outlet box, no ground. Yay!

 

[rgsgww]

You rent? ...the landlord should be the one that gets the things fixed, he should also know about the "fixes" that have been done.

 

[bungalowgirl]

Landlord said it was okay to swap out the light. I also think the landlord is the one who rigged it this way in the first place.

Can I just cap & tape the wires in the outlet box and get rid of the light all together?

 

[rgsgww]

Landlord said it was okay to swap out the light. I also think the landlord is the one who rigged it this way in the first place.

Can I just cap & tape the wires in the outlet box and get rid of the light all together?

You can certainly unscrew those wire nuts and remove the wires leading to the fixture. Ditch the electrical tape on the nuts, makes it look even worse. Make sure power is off first, by using a wiggy (little light up testers, very cheap)

 

[bungalowgirl]

Cool, thanks for all the quick and thorough feedback.

 

[rgsgww]

No problem.