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I always put scotch tape over the breaker and switch too .... just cause I can....
reminds ME not to flip it on to turn on the light so I can see better to install the light .... (old age does odd things to memory)

Yeah, I almost did that once.

wally775 wrote:Jeeper,

# 1 RULE. DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF PART OF THE CIRCUIT.

IANAE
Proceed at your own risk.
Pm me if you have any questions.

True, it makes circuit diagrams impossible to draw ... I don't recall a symbol for humans in a circuit.

Rubber gripped/insulated tools etc too.
rubber shoes, rubber gloves
non-metallic ladder
etc etc

I knew one man electrocuted when his ring made a hole in a glove.
I have a metal watchband that tried to do some arc-welding without my permission.
Things can heat up fast if you aren't careful

Be careful, it's the AMPs that kill.

seamusTX wrote:You're on the right track. Be sure to turn off the circuit breaker. This seems too obvious to say, but people forget to do it rather often.

If you go to Home Depot, Lowe's, or a similar store, they sell books with illustrations of how to do wiring.

Black is hot, white is neutral, green is ground. Most electrical fixtures make it pretty clear which screw should go with which wire. Some have black, white, and green leads that you hook up to the wiring.

- Jim

Correct.

But realize that you MUST turn the breaker off... White is "usually" "neutral" but realize that on a light (hooked in series on a black switched circuit, no one takes time to paint the white wire black, since if the switch is on, both the white and black on a light will be hot. ... rather than an outlet hooked up parallel) that when the switch is ON, the white at the fixture will also be "hot" as the electricity exits the fixture, since the switch "breaks" the black wire loop containing the fixture. really, there is no "neutral" on a light fixture if the switch is on, it's black/hot, it is "neutral" only if the switch is off ... but they don't make color-changing plastic coating for wires which sense if the switch is on or off. Ground is also bare copper. White neutral and Bare ground connect to the same "bus" in the breaker box. Turn the breaker off !!! Be careful. I recommend getting those books too and completely studying them prior to doing it yourself. Also, if you are connecting any Aluminum to Copper wires, you'll need special connectors marked "CU-AL" else the standard connectors can oxidize, causing a fire later.