Which wire is the neutral and hot in my ceiling light fixture?
Asked by Victoria Romero 
4 months ago
Last Updated: September 11, 2024
Can you assist me with replacing a ceiling light fixture? I’m a bit confused by the wires in the ceiling. The old wires from the previous light aren’t making it any easier. How can I determine which one is the neutral and hot wire? I’ve also included some pictures for reference.
Update: Success! Thanks to everyone for the helpful advice 😁 I’ll share a photo of the new light fixture in the comments (I know it’s not perfectly even, but the base can only hold so much 🫤)
Connect the white wire to the white wire and the black wire to the yellow wire
Consider getting a tester for under $10 to double-check and ensure everything is done correctly. It’s always a good idea to verify, especially since you never know if the previous person wired the fixture correctly.
I would usually suggest the same thing, but if the hots were crossed and connected, the breaker would constantly trip.
Hey, , but that doesn’t mean that the strand isn’t connected to a black and white strand and wired differently.
Your best move is to ensure that the wires are not in contact with anything or each other. Once the power is back on, use a tester to identify the hot wire. In older homes, there may not be a ground wire for the lights. In that scenario, simply connect the light fixture ground to one of the bracket screws. Remember to take multiple photos before starting any repair work so you have a reference for reassembly later on. (I had to learn this lesson the hard way with an AC thermostat and a couple of lights.)
Make sure to connect the ground (green or bare copper) to the green screw on the mounting bracket. The White wire is neutral on both ends, but for a light like this one, it won’t matter if they are switched.
That yellow wire is pretty interesting. I haven’t come across that in a cable before. I’m thinking it might be conduit wiring, so the bracket might already be grounded, and just attaching a ground wire from the fixture to the green screw should do the trick.
Hey, it’s worth checking out to figure out the setup since it’s not clear from the picture.
Hey, it seems like the OP took care of installing the lights. I’m sure everything will turn out alright. I thought about getting more details, but it might not have made a difference in the end.
New lighting fixtures 😊
Remember, lights are not picky about which wire is hot or neutral.
The lights themselves don’t mind, but the fixture does! Make sure you connect the hot wire correctly so that the outside of the fixture doesn’t get hot.
Yellow wire is hot, white wire is neutral. On my lamps, the black wire with ribs is the neutral wire.
If you want to be safe, use a multimeter to check for voltage to ground.
Just for future reference, when dealing with a table lamp or household extension cord, you’ll find them wired with TANDEM LAMP CORD. This consists of a pair of vinyl clad wires extruded together. Pay attention to the wires, the one with RIBS is the neutral while the SMOOTH one is the HOT. At the male plug end, you’ll see the NEUTRAL ribbed wire connected to the wider blade/tang, and the HOT smooth wire connected to the narrower blade/tang. Consistency is key, especially with lamps that have sockets someone can touch. The aluminum (or nickel-plated) screw shell where the light bulb screws into is the NEUTRAL, while the brass or nickel contact at the bottom is the HOT. This setup ensures that touching the NEUTRAL screw shell won’t give you a shock. However, touching the bottom HOT contact may give you a jolt, but it’s localized to the finger and not dangerous to your heart. It’s a good reminder to be cautious around electrical sockets, even if they should be de-energized.