Wire Track Lighting Knowledge Base
Can I wire existing track lighting to plug into an outlet? I want to install a commercial dimmer which has Edison outlets and is designed for par lights. The current track lights are hard-wired into junction boxes which run back to the breaker box. Can I rewire the Romex to a new junction box and wire-nut each wire to a heavy-duty stranded cord terminated with an Edison plug so that I can connect the lights to the dimmer?
Is it ok to run speaker wire underneath track lighting? I just bought a track lighting system (which I'm going to plug into a standard outlet using the system's end power feed and cord). I'm also running the wires from my speaker system (for t.v.) across the wall in the same place that I'm placing the track lighting. So I'm planning to run the speaker lines underneath the track-- basically the lines will be placed on the ceiling and the track will be placed directly over it and screwed into the ceiling. (I will cut a small channel in the ceiling for the wire so the track can be flush without squeezing the wire.) The point is to have a single thin line of cords running together across the ceiling through the length of the track that looks like this: -------wire----------[ track ]---------wire--------- In the world of electricity and interference and heat, etc. is it not a good idea to have the speaker wires in constant contact with the track, even if it's underneath? The speaker wires are standard clear, plastic-looking cords with the two silver metal wires visible inside. The track system is the Hampton Bay Transitional Collection from Lowes, and the track is metal-like, though it may be some other material coated to look like metal. Thanks!
track lighting wiring problem, the light stays on, switches don't control it.? track lighting wiring problem, the light stays on, switches don't control it. there are two switches on the wall, one on each side of the room. I had a light in place before, and it worked fine, could on and then off from other switch, or vice versa. Now, i hooked up a NEW light today, and connected white to white wire, black to black, and ground to ground wires in the light switch, junction box on ceiling. I've got one other wire in the junction box, it's red. I don't think it was used before though - it has a marette on it. Please help. thanks.
when installing track lights do I have to connect the ground wire if there is no electic box in the ceiling? what I'm trying to do is run a track lighting fixture from the ceiling. There is no electric box where I am trying to install the lights. I thought maybe I could run a wire from the lights down the wall and connect a plug at the end of the wire to make the fixture run off of a wall outlet instead of a electric box in the ceiling. Do I still have to use the ground wire? if so, how do I do it? Is it safe to not use it? Thanks for your help & patience.
Track Lighting Wiring Question: Fixture has black/white - ceiling has black/white/red/ground? I recently bought a track lighting unit and have tried to replace the flourescent light box in my kitchen. The ceiling electrical box has wires for red, black, white, and a ground copper wire, but my new fixture only has the black and white. After reading countless posts on similar configurations, I wired white to white and black to red (assuming it was hot because it was used with last fixture). I left black alone and copper alone. Should I've done something differently (with ground specifically) because after reswitching at the breaker, nothing is powering with the unit? I should mention that unit (from Ikea) has cord that reaches out and sends current through metal track. If anyone is familiar with this set up, input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! Shane
Track lighting problems!! Help!!? Here is the situation.. I removed a fluorescent light fixture from my ceiling. The white wire and the black wire had been extended by a cap to make the fixture work. The fixture was not grounded and was only attached to the two wires. I am now installing track lighting. I look in the ceiling box and I see: 2 white wires that were capped in with the white extention wire 1 black wire that was extended 2 bluish colored wires that are capped to eachother I removed the white and the black extention so I now have the following in the box: 2 white wires capped to eachother. 2 bluish wires capped to eachother. 1 black wire My track lighting has a white,black and green wire. I attached the white wire to the two white wires that are capped together. I attached the black wire to the single black wire. I attached my ground green wire to the two capped bluish wires. I assemble the rest of the lighting and turn back on the power and... I break my circuit breaker. I checked my connections and all points of the lighting. Nothing seems to be wrong but my wiring. My questions... Am I wired correctly? Anyone have a reason as to why I would have spliced neutral and ground wires? Am I fair to assume that the bluish wires are my ground? Why do I keep blowing my breaker? Do I need to ground my track lighting? What consequences do I have if I do not ground? and finally... How do i fix it?!?!? Heh.. I know it is a lot of questions to ask... I would appreciate any help. :)
Battery operated track lighting? I would like to illuminate a wall (or rather, art on it) and want it to appear fairly minimalistic. I'd hate to have to wire lighting in, because I'm the type of person that's always moving things and changing things -- so I would like some type of battery operated track lighting. So far, the only products I've found are LEDs, which give of the wrong type of light to be lighting artwork. Anyone know of a source that could be helpful? Here are a few examples of the kind of things I'd be interested in: http://65.118.245.21/product/2523_12lg.jpg http://www.brilliantlighting.com/images/articles/line-voltage-track-lighting.jpg http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/578f8440-4f0c-46bb-b5c9-f187299d8587_4.jpg It doesn't HAVE to be a track light -- I just want at least four small lights about the size of those on track lights. Because of where I'd be using them, they won't be visible, so the appearance isn't too important. Sonia -- a single light source isn't going to work. As for power, the power doesn't matter -- which I already clarified. I just don't want to hardwire it. The lights won't be used very often, but often enough that I'd like them. Thanks for your suggestions, everyone :)
How do I take out track lighting? I plan on cutting the main power because the wiring in this house is messed. What do I do with the wires attached to the light? Just snip them and leave them hanging?
Installing Home Depot track lighting - Voltage Question? As the title states, I'm installing a standard track lighting system on my ceiling. It will be wired directly where a previously existing ceiling fan is located. I want it to be dimmable. My question is in the voltage and how I determine if I need a Magnetic Low Voltage Dimmer or a Electronic Low Voltage Dimmer? Which one will make a humming noise or give spikes in the dimming? Links would be great too. Thanks!
Lighting my room with Blacklights? I want to add blacklight lighting to my room, and that doesn't mean just a bunch of random blacklight bulbs. I want a legitimate lighting system, such as lamps, track lighting, or wire lighting. Any idea how much this would cost? What would be the best way to do it, whether it would be ceiling lights, lamps, floor lamps, string lights etc.? Also, are there any long-term aspects of my health that I should be concerned with involving prolonged exposure to blacklight?
What the hell are wire nuts and how do I use them? I asked this question.... How do I take out track lighting? I plan on cutting the main power because the wiring in this house is messed. What do I do with the wires attached to the light? Just snip them and leave them hanging? and got this answer: No, you have to use wire nuts and put them back in the elec. box with a cover What the hell does that mean? I mean, thanks Edward K, but you didn't leave me much there. I suppose I could google it but at least with Yahoo! QnA, it allows us all to correspond.
I am trying to change out my track lighting.? I just removed my old track and found out there is no ground wire. My house was built in 1985. I just changed my hallway light and there was a ground wire for that. Right now for the track lighting there is just a black and white wire coming out of a little hole in the wall. It appears to be wrapped together like its one wire if that helps. My new track has a ground wire and I need some advice on how to get it to work with out blowing up my new house. I have other areas of my house that are not grounded that I need to change lights on as well so if it would be easier to just call an electrician to fix this problem let me know. Thank you for any advice.
Can I convert a recessed light fixture to power a track light system? My hallway has 5 recessed can lights each with a 75watt bulb operated on the same switch. I would like to install a 5-bulb halogen track light in the middle of the hallway to illuminate wall art. Can I remove the bulb and insert from the middle cannister fixture, cut the wires to the bulb receptacle and use the same wires to power up the track light. The track light with 5 bulbs will consume 150 watts through a low voltage transformer. Is this safe? The cannister light sticker says 75-watts maximum.
Track lighting on multiple dimmers? I'm an electrical engineer and my senior project involves dimming 8 different incandescent lights using a microcontroller. (A cheap, do-it-yourself DJ lighting) The lighting part seems to be the problem. I want to have track-style lighting where there are 2 whites, 2 red, 2 green, and 2 blue lamps, to vary how the entire room looks and feels (it would look amazing with fog, huh?) I want to buy track lighting for this project, but I am not well educated in setting it up. Can you individually wire each lamp to its own line or are they all connected in parallel? Is there a specific brand that allows you to wire each one individually? From what I can find, it looks like its bad news for me. If I can't do track lighting, I think I'll just get a block of wood and mount miniature spot lights on them. (ie http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Black-Finish-Mini-Spot-Light__63417.html) I'll then take those wires, bound them together, and plug each one into my circuit board. Does anyone have any other ideas on how I can do this? My budget is less than $150 The lights will have to work on 120v. The microcontroller uses an optoisolator and a triac to chop the 120v wave to control the voltage waveform (just like an actual dimmer). My prototype is working and I am waiting on my printed circuit boards to arrive.
Track Lighting: Poor design...horrible installation issues....? I recently purchased track lighting from Lowes. It was a nice, moderately expensive system with LED lights.... The problem came when installing it. After completing the wiring, it was next to impossible to bolt the system to the ceiling. The mount was fine and adjustable but the plate covering the wiring attached to the lights completely obscured the access to two screw holes needed to secure the light to the ceiling. Has anyone else come across a poorly designed light like this that makes it next to impossible to install without pulling a McGuyver? **Nope..the cover does not snap into place...that make too much sense. Like I said it's a poor design.
Which electrical wire (black or white) should a inline switch is? I have several sets of track lights that are controlled by one switch (switch A). In those sets of track lights, i want to make another switch (switch B) for a particular track light to save electricity reason. Which electrical wire (black or white) should i break to make a switch for this track lights?
How can I recreate the recessed lighting effect? I live in a rental and I love the reccesed lighting effect. I know I can recreate it with track lighting but I can only do so much with the wiring of my place. I would like to be able to do it as easy and quick as possible. I'm not allowed to drill holes or to make any changes to the place. Any Ideas?
Do I need a bigger breaker than a 20 amp for 8 fixtures? I have 12ft of Cooper Wiring Emarald track lighting Model P6502W, which is 3 tracks put together to reach max allowed length. This contains 9 x 120v-60hz /12v-50w Dimmable Power Supplies. A chandelier with 6 x 40w bulbs. A GE Profile Gas Stove model JGB920. A pendulum 120v 50w. And 2 x 60w bulbs in the garage. I'm not sure if there are any other wall outlets attached to this circuit breaker. The reason I am asking this question, is because I attached a Low Voltage Electronic Dimmer 600w (Cooper Wiring Aspire) to my 12ft track lighting system. However, when the lights are turned on there is a loud buzzing coming from each of the the transformers. I attached an incadecent dimmer (same v and type) to see if my original information was wrong, but this still buzzed, just with a lesser tone. Please help! I have tested the dimmer and it works properly. I also have the luxury on this track system of removing each transformer w/light with just a twist of the wrist. I had already tested the theory of over loading the dimmer by slowly removing each one until there was just one left and it still buzzed loudly. When this track lighting system is on a standard 3 way with no dimmer there is no buzz.... but I would like to control the concentration of light... Thanks for all of your responses... I am not an electrician so that is why I am here to ask for help. I thought that if the breaker was overloaded it would pop... but I have to ask. I feel that there are no dumb questions... just maybe some dumb actions.. I'm trying to avoid those.
Where can I find interior wireless lighting? I am very interested in track lighting, however because I rent my town home, I didn't want to hire an electrician for this job. Where can I find lighting that is either wireless, or has a normal AC plug, in which I could discreetly run the plug down the wall instead of re-wiring my living room
Can I power a chandelier from track light? Hi - I am hanging a chandelier and coincidentally have a track light nearby (already powered by the room's light switch). Can I just hook up the chandelier to the track somehow to save myself some wiring effort? Is there an adapter/converter available?
Can I install my own track lighting in a commercial environment? I am confused as to whether California and/or the NEC considers track lighting a lamp or a built in fixture. I want to attach the track to the suspended ceiling using t-bar clips and use a live end with a plug (all made by the manufacturer) that will be plugged into a wall socket. I have read that the code simply requires the rating of the track (aka 15 amps) to be equal or more than the supply rating. I assume this is so the track cannot be overloaded without first overloading the branch circuit. Also, what should I expect to pay an electrician if I wanted the wiring attached to the existing fluorescent fixtures and wall switches connected to the track? Some manufacturers refer to their track lighting as "commercial" and others do not. Is there a difference?
Replacing Track Light Fixture... Extra Wires From The Ceiling Electrical Box? I'm replacing a single bulb light fixture with a 3 bulb track light fixture... When I took out the old fixture, there were 2 black and 1 white wires attached to the fixture's black wire, and there were 2 white wires attached to the fixtures white wire... There was an extra black wire on its own... I'm confused as to which wires I should attach to which wires... In total there are 3 black wires and 3 white wires coming from the ceiling's electrical box, and there are 3 black wires and 3 white wires coming from the 3 bulb track fixture... Your suggestions would be much appreciated... Thanks, -Andrew I tried attaching the 3 white wires from the ceiling electrical box to the 3 white wires from the light fixture and I did the same with the 6 black wires and grounded it as suggested... but when I did this there was a sizzling sound and the the switch flipped off shutting off the power to the fixture...any ideas why this might have happened? In electrician terminoligy, the breaker "tripped"
Installing a track light in a existing junction box for a ceiling fan? I have an existing junction box in the ceiling which I think is meant for a ceiling fan. I want to install a track light at the junction box but not sure if I can do that due to the voltage requirements. I have 4 wires in the box, I green, 1 red, 1 blue and I white. Can someone please help me and tell me what wires I need to connect.
What are my best alternatives to ceiling light? Hi, I have no ceiling outlet in my office (9x11'). I've been using a floor lamp, but that's a rather poor light, even with a 100W bulb. Halogen torch lamp is bright, but it uses too much electricity. Running cable and breaking drywall on the ceiling is simply too much trouble for me, so I've been thinking a wall-mounted track lighting, which I can wire so that it's between same studs as the existing wall outlet. What is a good alternative for me?
Replaced older 600W Lutron Dimmer switch for track lighting. Using Lutron toggle 600w dimmer single pole.? The wires in the box are as follows: 3 wire (Red, Black and white plus ground) and a 2 wire (Black, white and ground) When I took the original switch out, the red wire from the 3 wire and the black wire from the 2 wire was connected to the switch. When I turn the power off, the bathroom and bedroom also turn off. There is 3 way switch in the bedroom/bathroom and I assume this is where the 3 wire comes into play in the dimmer. When I installed the new switch, black and red plus ground, I turned the power back on and the power bypassed the switch and the lights were on. What did I do wrong? Do I need a 3 way dimmer because there is a 3 way switch within the circuit? Hi, Thank you for your answer. I am still a bit confused about the 3 way dimmer switch, as the old switch I am replacing had 2 wires coming out of it. The model # is N600, which is a single pole, 120V switch. Old style look. Let me set the scene: 3 light bars, 120V 20A. Originally, there were 2 lights wired to one 600W Single Pole dimmer, and a jumper to a separate box with another 600w Single Pole dimmer in it that controlled the other light. I will be eliminating one of the lights and junctioning the connection in the attic. Since I have not yet done this...is the output of the 3 lights too much for one 600W switch? (Even though only one light has functioning bulbs in it now) The bulbs are currently 45W. but I will be replacing those with 50W more modern looking lights. I still wonder if a 3 way is the answer since I did not pull out a 3 way. I just realized something..As I mentioned, there are 3 tracks, one of which was connected directly to one single pole 600w dimmer, and there was a jumper to another box that lit the other 2 lights. I took out the latter switch and wiring as my plan was to eliminate one light and consolidate, keeping 2 lights into one dimmer. BUT... since I disconnected the jumped wire which I believe kills both the light I plan on removing, PLUS the one I plan to keep. So, I need to bring power back to the one light I want to keep and connect it to the dimmer. Am I best to go into the attic and splice the wires going into the currently live light? (after shutting off power, of course) Still I think this shouldn't affect my switch problem though, but adds to my aggro. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
Wiring a tracklight in kitchen ceiling? I am installing a track light in place of an old ceiling fan, and need help with the wiring configuration. There are two bare ground wires, two light brown wires, three white wires, one black wire, one red, and one green (which I do not believe is a ground). The wall switch is an on/off dimmer unit. There is also another similar switch next to it that doesn't seem to work, but that's a seperate issue. I would greatly appreciate any help with this. Thanks!
Is there such a thing as Plug-in or Battery-powered lighting? I need to add lighting to a corner of my (rented) apartment. (Preferably track lighting.) I'm looking for plug-in or battery-powered options; a fixture that doesn't have to be wired through the walls. There's no room for a table lamp, it's gotta hang on the walls or ceiling. Any ideas or info?
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