Need Electrical help

[Water logged]

I am replacing fluorescent lights in garage with LEDs. There are 4 lights on one switch and wiring includes 1 white, 1black and a solid copper ground. The ground was attached to the metal housing on fluorescents. The LEDs screw into standard light sockets and the is no attachment points for the copper on the sockets that came with the new lights. Can I just connect the incoming and outgoing coppers together so that ground goes through its circuit and just use the black and white connections on the light socket? As you can see my electrical knowledge is not great and I would not be offended if you told me to hire an electrician.

Glenn

 

[ThomW]

How are the new light sockets being mounted to the ceiling? Typically, the mounting bracket that mounts socket to the ceiling box will have a little green screw on it for the ground wire...there is nothing like that?

 

[Water logged]

Nope, no green screw. That's what I was looking for because that is what they attached to on the original lights.

Glenn

 

[dwco5051]

Are you are installing a ceramic/plastic fixture that has one standard socket for a screw in bulb to accept a multi-lamp LED onto a standard ceiling box? Similar to this;

 

[dingbat]

White in "Neutral"
Black is "Positive"
The copper wire is Earth (ground)

Hard to believe in this day and age a light fixture wouldn't have dedicated earth connection.

If worst comes to worst you attach Earth to the box if it's metal. Don't use the wire otherwise

 

[Water logged]

Are you are installing a ceramic/plastic fixture that has one standard socket for a screw in bulb to accept a multi-lamp LED onto a standard ceiling box?

Yes, plastic fixture one socket, no ceiling box, just 2 romex cables stuck thru ceiling. 1 romex from switch and one connecting to 2 other lights downstream.

 

[dwco5051]

I had two electricians who worked for me and one was my expert on code and since I retired 19 years ago so to the best of my knowledge the sockets do not have to be grounded (bonded) since there are no exposed conductive parts. The ground wires have to be continuous so they will have to be twisted together. If the ceiling boxes are metal they will have to be grounded either by a ground screw in the box or a ground wire clip. If I had to twist the bare copper grounds together in a box I always used the copper half of a buchanan connector to secure them to be certain someone working in the box later might take them apart without reconnecting.

 

[dwco5051]

Just reread you answer about no ceiling box. You will have to install a junction box to support the socket and enclose the wire connections. Without knowing details about your garage ceiling's construction I can't tell you exactly how to do it as there are several methods that come to mind.

 

[ThomW]

I agree with dwco on this. Did you install the socket yourself? There needs to be a box in the ceiling where you mount the light. Without doing that it will not be to code and could also cause a fire. That box is where your joined wires will be, keeps them from being exposed, and provides something to mount the light socket too besides just screwing it into whatever material your ceiling is. Junction boxes only cost a few bucks and are super easy to install.

 

[Water logged]

I am replacing a fixture done at time of original construction, there was no box installed at that time. Only grounding was to metal light fixture. Checking in the attic I saw that the two romex cables are just strung across the ceiling joists then go down thru a hole cut in the ceiling drywall. Will go with boxes mounted on underside of drywall. Thank you all for your input.

Glenn

 

[bigdee]

You will need a box at each fixture/junction. You need a plastic 4"round box labelled for "old work". It will have wings that flip out to secure it to the drywall. A keyless light fixture is made of either plastic or porcelain and does not require a ground. But you need to tie all grounds together in each junction/ceiling box. You also tie all the whites and blacks together and make a 6 " pigtail to connect to the light fixture.