I'm a new homeowner and I consider myself pretty handy, but I'm a bit stumped while trying to change out a light fixture in my living room. I've watched a bunch of videos to prepare, but when I started to take off the old fixture, I found way more wires than I expected. I've got some images showing the setup, and I could really use some help verifying how to disconnect and reconnect these wires correctly. Just to clarify, there's only one light switch controlling this overhead light. Here are the images: https://imgur.com/a/nN9fBVh and https://imgur.com/a/y2BvQiP.
2 Answers
It seems like you're on the right track. You should disconnect the old fixture wires, which appear to be 1, A, and the lower copper wire, and then connect your new fixture to those wires. The connection between wire 2 and wire 1 isn’t necessary, so you can connect wire 1 directly into the yellow cap instead. They might have connected it this way because of the push connector that was attached by the fixture manufacturer. Overall, it's just about making sure the connections are solid!
Definitely sounds simpler than it looks at first! Just take it slow.
Sure looks like you’ve got a few 'pigtails' going on. Just look at the yellow wire nut: one wire is coming in from the panel, another heads out to the next fixture, and the third goes to your light fixture itself. It seems like the wire meant for your fixture was connected to the lamp fixture with a Wago connector, probably because of the stranded wire. As for the red nut, notice the white wire with black tape; that's your switch wire. All you need to do is open those Wago connectors (A and B) and disconnect the wire nut near 1 for the ground wires. You can connect your new fixture right there! If you used lever clamp type Wagos, they can be reused too!
Thanks for the breakdown! That explanation makes working with those wires feel less intimidating.
Great advice! Can't believe how involved some fixtures can get!
Thanks for clarifying! That makes it a lot easier to understand how to approach it.