How do I install a new light fixture with old wiring? cast iron bath

My old wiring for the original light in the bathroom (which has only one switch) on the wall consists of 3 sets of wires coming out through the box.

-one with a brown, a black, a ground (bare), and a red wire
-other 2 have a ground (bare), a black, and a brown.

all grounds are connected to the box in the wall.

How can I install my new light fixture which consists of a white, a black, and a ground?

Answer by justwondering
Connect your ground to the other ground wires in the box. What you are calling brown is most likely the neutral (white) that has aged and discolored. Twist and cap the neutrals together. The black and the red are both hot – so one of them is extra unless it was used for 220v – so cap off the red. and attache the blacks to the light fixture. I know that doesn’t look right, but here is why it works. The 4 wire coming into the light box is feeding the power (that 4th wire -red- could have been used to feed another circuit, but is not needed for this light) if you hooked the black to black and white to white of the light fixture it would always be on. Those 3 wires are going to the switch – so you connect the whites – that sends that neutral side of the circuit down through the switch – but you have to get it back up to the light – the only wire to do that is the black which you connect to the neutral side of the fixture.

Answer by Mark M
You need to use the paper-work(diagram)that came with your NEW ITEM..if you can’t do that..its better to have a Qualified Electrician do the work/
..the wiring is the same..
Its just that the color’s have changed..so its a matter to distinguish..
..if you can’t do that..call a Electrician.

Answer by chicagirl51
You should always label your wires when you disconnect them. But justwondering is correct.

I have a bathroom light switch that presently turns on two lights in the room (one on either side of the mirror). I would like to replace these lights with a single fixture – a light bar that spans across the width of the mirror.

What is my best approach (minimal work yet safe) to deal with the remaining live wires (going from 2 to 1 fixture)? My hope is that I can disconnect the wires running to the second fixture, but if I cannot without going into the wall and causing a lot of drywall work – what do I do with these wires? Tape them and put them back into the wall?

Looking for safe approach without ripping my walls apart more than required.

Thanks in advance.

Answer by andygroch
That is basically what you do, either tape them off or cap them. The other option is to see if they are daisey chained through the first j-box. disconnect the wires there if that is the case.

Answer by DIY Guy
The wiring is most likely run from the switch to the first fixture and then on to the second fixture. If this is the case, you can connect your new fixture to the first electrical box, assuming its location suits you. You could then simply place wire caps on the unused wires to the second fixture.

I don’t recommend cutting or removing the old wires because you may want to return to the old layout someday. Also, if you have any problems with the project, it’ll make it easy to undo the installation.

If you need to move the wires to suit the location of the new fixture, the proper way to do this is to install a new fixture box. Run wires from the old box and connect them with wire caps. By code you cannot patch over the old box, you have to make it accessible by putting a cover plate on it. Alternatively, you can run an unbroken length of wire from another earlier electrical box, which is probably the box that contains the switch. That way you can patch over both of the old fixture boxes.

Answer by Jim W
The lights should be mounted on electrical boxes. Wire nuts put on the end of the wires and then placed in the box will be the correct way to do this. A blank cover is found at the local electrical store. It depends on the location of the electrical boxes just how you will connect the new fixture. You may need to open the drywall to get the wire where you need it.

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