Help with disconnecting

AlSmith · 05-20-2009, 08:13 AM

I need to totally remove a commercial 4 bulb fluorescent light which is at the end of a run. What do I do with the remaining wires? Put them in a junction box?

Blue Jay · 05-20-2009, 08:19 AM

Yes that would work, make sure to cap off the wires, if you can figure out where it is fed from I would disconect it there and tag the wires for future reference.

cheesefood · 05-20-2009, 08:51 AM

Cap them and then put electrical tape around the cap. Those things can pop off over time, leaving you with an exposed live wire.

AlSmith · 05-20-2009, 10:46 AM

Thanks for your replies.

When you say "cap them" do you mean put a wire nut on each wire individually?

Thanks

cheesefood · 05-20-2009, 11:23 AM

That's what I did.

You COULD just wrap them in tape, but then you're counting on the tape to stay on over time and that's a risk I wouldn't take compared to a $.05 wire nut. Twist a small one on each wire, then wrap it in electrical tape so it's secure. Then still move them far apart. In can make a cheap spacer out of a piece of cardboard with some holes poked in it and the wires fed through the holes. No telling when a critter will be wandering through your ceiling looking for a snack.

Yeah, probably overkill but it's a very cheap way to remove risk.

JoeD · 06-09-2009, 05:12 PM

There are only two ways that are code compliant.
1. Put them in a junction box and cap them individually.
2. Disconnect them at the other end and then do anything you like with them. Leave them. Remove them.

handyguys · 06-10-2009, 08:14 AM

JoeD, right on. I would go with his #2. Disconnect them in the next fixture in the run.

If you cap them in a junction box. The box must be accessible always and have a cover on it.