Hang Kitchen Light Fixtures

A new light fixture can help give your kitchen a new look.

Replacing your kitchen light fixtures can provide your kitchen with a more modern look, whether you're doing it as a stand-alone job or as part of a larger kitchen remodel. The project is appropriate for moderately handy do-it-yourself homeowner, especially if the new light will hang in the same location as the old fixture.

Instructions

1. Turn off the circuit that supplies power to the fixture at the main electrical box. You might want to place a sign on the box warning people not to restore power while you are installing the new fixture. Flip the light switch for the fixture on and off to make sure that you have turned off the correct circuit.

2. Disconnect the canopy from the ceiling by unscrewing it with your screwdriver and lower the metal canopy towards the fixture. The canopy is the flat plate that covers the opening for the electrical box on the ceiling.

3. Unscrew the plastic twist connectors (usually orange caps) to expose the wires that connect the fixture to the power lines coming from the electrical box. Check to see if the power is off one more time by connecting the leads of an electrical tester to the wires.

4. Disconnect the wires of the fixture from the wires coming from the power box and carefully lower the fixture.

5. Remove the electrical box by unscrewing it if there are screws or by prying it from the ceiling joist if it's nailed to the joist.

6. Pry one of the knockout plugs from the side of the electrical box with a screwdriver. The knockout plugs are the round metal tabs on the sides and top of the electrical box which are used for running wires through. Use a knockout plug that is close to the cable connector, which is a tab on the inside of the electrical box that protects the cable from rubbing against the sharp edge of the knockout plug.

7. Slide the electrical cable that is coming from the electrical box through the knockout plug, guiding it under the cable connector. Pull about 6 inches of cable through, then secure the cable in place by tightening the screw in the cable connector. When securing the cable in the cable connector, use the part of the cable covered by the sheathing and not the individual wires.

8. Slide the electrical box into the hole and attach it to one of the ceiling joists.

9. Measure and cut the wires on the new light fixture with wire cutters so the wires leading from the electrical box and the wires leading from the fixture will be the right length. If there is a chain the fixture will hang from, remove enough links to get it to the correct length.

10. Lift the fixture up to the ceiling and attach it to the electrical box with the mounting bar. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for the exact way to do this with your fixture.

11. Remove 1/2-inch of sheathing from the black, white and green wires from the wires on the fixture with a wire stripper.

12. Wrap the grounding (green) wire leading from the electrical box to the grounding screw on the fixture, tighten it, then connect it to the grounding wire on the fixture by screwing them together with a plastic twist connector.

13. Twist the white wire from the electrical box to the white wire from the fixture together with a plastic twist connector, then do the same thing with the black wires.

14. Tuck the wires into the electrical box and cover it with the canopy. Press the canopy tight against the ceiling and screw it into place.

15. Screw the light bulbs into the fixture.

16. Restore power from the electrical box.

Tags: from electrical, cable connector, coming from, knockout plug, leading from, plastic twist