How to Rewire a Chandelier
When they are properly working, chandeliers are dazzling pieces of decoration that can change a room from being a normal run-of-the-mill room into a graceful and classy room. However, sometimes bad things happen and the wiring can cause a your beautiful chandelier to flicker, or lose its life completely. When this happens any chandelier is pretty much redundant. Here’s a brief guide on how to rewire your light fixture…
1. Turn off the power for the light at the electrical box to avoid electrocution.
2. Some of these chandeliers are pretty heavy especially those multi-tier black wrought iron ones and those festooned with crystals so you will probably need some help. While someone holds the chandelier in place slowly disconnect it from the wiring and take it down from the ceiling.
3. Put your chandelier somewhere safe. This is a good time to give it a good clean. If you have a white chandelier it can get pretty grubby and polishing the crystals on your chandelier will make them sparkle more than ever. It is easy to damage a your light however especially those with glass lamp shades so take care when cleaning it. Make sure everything is bone dry before you reconnect it or change the wiring.
4. Examine the wiring that leads to each bulb. It is advisable to keep a note on the wiring layout for your own personal reference.
5. Check each bulb socket. If they are in good use and not corroded then leave them alone. However, if they are not in suitable shape, replace them with sockets of a similar size.
6. Take the old faulty wiring out of the chandelier. Make sure a replacement of equal size is lined up. Replace the old wires with the new wires that are of the same size and connect the new wiring to the bulb sockets.
7. Once the wiring in the chandelier is replaced, reconnect the chandelier to the ceiling wiring and test it by switching on the electricity.
Although this may seem complicated, it is actually fairly easy if you are used to wiring up anything so long as you keep a sketch of the wiring of your chandelier on a piece of paper to remind you of the layout. (You may find one in the original instructions if you kept them). If there is any doubt about your own electrical abilities however call a professional electrician to do this for you as you need to know what you are doing to handle electricity safely.