How do I replace my ceiling light?

I’m trying to replace the ceiling light in my bedroom. I have turned off the power and removed the old light. There are two black wires connected together w a plastic cap, two white wires that went to the old light and two ground wires that were also connected to the old light. The light is controlled by one wall switch. What do I do now?

The black wires are the hot coming into the box tied to the black going to the switch and the neutral(white) is there for the white of light fixture and the white returning from switch is there for tying to the black of light fixture. You may need a voltage tester to determine the white from switch.
With switch off test each white to ground wires and you should have zero voltage, turn switch on and the white that reads voltage to grounds should be marked with black tape and goes to the black of light fixture.

4 Responses to “How do I replace my ceiling light?”

  1. Aiden Nightingale, on August 18th, 2010 at 2:21 am Said:

    god nows lol
    References :

  2. gagootza, on August 18th, 2010 at 2:40 am Said:

    the 2 wires connected with a cap do not touch,that’s your switch leg,the 2 white wires ,put one on each side of the fixture and the ground wires are either green or bare,they all go together.put caps or wire nuts on the ends of each wire to hold them together
    References :

  3. Ralph Z, on August 18th, 2010 at 2:50 am Said:

    The black wires are the hot coming into the box tied to the black going to the switch and the neutral(white) is there for the white of light fixture and the white returning from switch is there for tying to the black of light fixture. You may need a voltage tester to determine the white from switch.
    With switch off test each white to ground wires and you should have zero voltage, turn switch on and the white that reads voltage to grounds should be marked with black tape and goes to the black of light fixture.
    References :
    Me. Electrician of 55 years and counting

  4. Towanda, on August 18th, 2010 at 3:01 am Said:

    You put the new light back together exactly like the one you took down. Be sure you connect all the wires just like they were to the other light. When you don’t know what you are doing, that is the safest way to go. The light you took off should have had a black (hot) wire and a white (neutral) wire and then the grounds just like the new one. The white wires may be the wires that go to the wall switch but without being there I would hate to tell you the wrong thing.
    I do the grounds a bit different than that other person. The ground from your new light should go to a screw in the box along with the other ground wires. That grounds the light and the box.
    References :

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