Junction Box has no white wires celing light help needed

Aug 13, 2005 4 Replies
N

Hi, I am putting a ceiling light in a kitchen. I wish so bad I would have looked at the previous lighting. I did not. I expected it to be the same as everything else I have looked at.



This junction box has no white wires. There are black, a ground (bare) wire. And there are other wires black and light brown that are wired together. There are two sets of light brown and black wires. One set is black and light brown wired together. There is another set like it.



There was a single black wire. I guessed that is the correct black on black wire. Ground was easy to find. There is just no white wire.



Any ideas?


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S

Some of the old homes I have worked in the white turns brown because of time and heat. Use a meter to identify the wires

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N

Thanks. I found it. I am stupid, but I hooked the old fixture back up and it worked. I have determined it is the light bulbs. They don't fit the new fixture. Sigh. Thanks and sorry.

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R

would

wired

The "light brown" is the white wire-the insulation has aged from heat.

As for the wiring itself, difficult to tell from your description, but I'd say if there's only two romex cables coming into the ceiling box, there's only one light switch. That switch should have a white and black wire hooked to it.

In the ceiling box there should be 2 "light brown" wires connected together. The white fixture wire also goes to that. There should also be a "light brown" and black tied together from your description, with the other black wire free. The free black wire goes to the black wire on the fixture.

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R

black

wire.

Oops-added one too many "light brown wires, lol. Not connected together!!!!

.. The white fixture wire also goes to that. There should also

Oops-added one too many "light brown wires, lol

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