Convert plug-in fixture to hardwire? Okay?

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Noah_B

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Hello,

My wife bought a simple one-bulb light fixture that has a 2-prong plug at the end of the cable (designed to be plugged into a wall receptacle.) I'd like to install this fixture into an existing hardwired (wire nuts, box) location in my house.

Is this okay to do? Can I just cut off the plug and strip the existing 2 wires? Or do I need to do something to convert the fixture to a hardwire-compatible model?

If I can just hook it up, the fixture has 2 wires, which is white / black, and what do I do with the ground coming out of the box?

Thank you for any advice!
David
 
Does the wire come out of the fixture in a place where the light would cover over existing light box? Or would the light mount partially over the box allowing wire to sneak past? This will help get a good piece of advice. Good luck.....
 
That part is no problem. The light that I'm replacing has a very similar design so I can just reuse the mounting bracket and trim piece. So, I can mechanically attach the light to the ceiling and box.

I'm more concerned about the wiring -- it seems simple enough to cut the plug off of the new fixture, strip the wires and attach them to white/black in the box, I'm just not sure if that is advisable / safe thing to do?

Thanks!
 
Sure it's safe, as long as you connect the wires properly. Inside a j-box, using the right size wirenuts, and making sure you twist the stranded and solid wires together before turning the nuts on. It's common for the stranded wire to simply slip out of the wirenut if it isn't twisted properly.

I assume the fixture wires aren't coded? It really shouldn't matter then, which is white and which is black. If you haven't already cut the plug off, the larger fork is the neutral wire...so make a note of that before cutting it off.
 
Thanks a lot! That is the confirmation I was looking for... it seemed like such a simple thing to do (just cut off the plug and strip the wires), which got me paranoid that it was also a really dumb thing to do. :D
 
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