Help: exterior junction box/light fixture mismatch

J.B. Bobbitt 21 years ago

Hi all;

I'm replacing some exterior lighting in a ~20 yr old house. The existing junction boxes have only two threaded holes to accept screws to attach the new light fixtures; the holes are 2-3/4" apart and aligned horizontally.

BUT, all the light fixtures at The Borg have attachment plates with the screw holes 3-1/2" apart, and arranged diagonally.

I've searched for adaptors or crossovers at The Borg and other local hardware stores, there doesn't appear to be anything.

Am I missing something? Is there an easy fix? Any ideas?

As always, thanks a heap,

-jbb

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RBM 21 years ago

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Greg 21 years ago

You are looking for a "hicky" with a pivot in it. I have several that came with various fixtures. It has a strap that fastens to the box and another you screw the fixture to. The center is a piviot and some are also tapped for 3/8-18 to use a nipple

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Mikepier 21 years ago

I have encountered this situation several times and I just drill a new hole in the bracket so it matches the holes on the box.

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SQLit 21 years ago

Welcome to the wonderful world of electrical boxes. There are what is commonly called 3/0 and 4/0 boxes with the screw tabs mounted at a diagonal from each other. 2.75 inches sounds a lot like a 3/0 box. (pronounced 3 oh)

Find a lighting store and ask for some hanging brackets for the distance you need. There are brackets with a center pivot and various places to put screws and studs for the fixture. There are also round plates with a larger hole in the middle that when moved around the box will eventually line up to a place where you can put the screws into the box and still mount the fixture.

Patience grasshopper it can be done. Look very closely at the parts you have.

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