Help wiring up lights

[muibubbles]

i had the generic light bulb and im trying to switch them over with these...

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...P-_-100148706-_-x&locStoreNum=928&marketID=15

im pretty much a wiring newbie and im not sure how to connect the wires..
ive done 2-3 lights before and had no problem but this one has double the wires...

one switch turns on 2 garage lights...
so i have 2 black, 2 white and 2 copper wires...

if i remember correctly when i took it apart...

the was 1 black and 1 white connected
the other black was directly to the light
the other white was connected to the 2 coppers and connected to another white which was then connected to the light

so how do i connect it properly? any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks
-benny

 

[mrb]

white would never be connected to bare (ground)

you should have marked them before you took it apart. Sounds like one of the cables is power coming in and the other is a switch loop. Do you have a multimeter?

 

[Interex]

The white is your neutral wire. If you've got multiple fixtures, the neutrals will normally be connected together. The bare copper wire is your ground and are connected similarly to the neutral wires BUT not together with them. The black is your hot wire.

I'm not sure I follow you on what wires you have coming out of the j-box from your old light. Your old light should have simply had 1 black, 1 white, and a ground that is normally attached to a the metal base of the fixture.

 

[mrb]

The white is your neutral wire. If you've got multiple fixtures, the neutrals will normally be connected together. The bare copper wire is your ground and are connected similarly to the neutral wires BUT not together with them. The black is your hot wire.

I'm not sure I follow you on what wires you have coming out of the j-box from your old light. Your old light should have simply had 1 black, 1 white, and a ground that is normally attached to a the metal base of the fixture.

from his description of the black connected to the white it sounds like there is constant power coming to the box with the light, and a switch loop going from there to the switch. He needs to figure out which is which.

 

[acer66]

It`s easy to loose track with wires, well at least for me,
I used to do a little drawing when too much for my memory capacity was going on.
But these days I take at least one picture
if I think my old brain might be not up to the task.

 

[Grogan14]

i had the generic light bulb

By generic bulb, do you mean standard edison-base incandescent bulbs, maybe in porcelain fixtures, or was the existing lighting already 4' flourescents?

The only reason for a black wire to have been connected to a white wire was if the feed was indeed in the ceiling box, and the wall switch was just a switch leg (you drive the hot leg down to the switch on the white and it returns on the black). But, if you had 2 incandescant fixtures switched together, there would have had to have been a total of three sets of wires in one of those ceiling boxes, if indeed a switch leg (or loop) was utilized.

If the wall switch in question is alone by itself, and not multiple switches ganged together, you could just pop off the wall plate and take a look. If it's a switch leg, there will be only one piece of romex in the box (assuming we're talking romex here). The switch will have both the white and black wires on it's terminals, as well as the ground wire attached to the strap.

If it's not a switch leg, and the feed is at the wall switch, then at the lights, blacks should go to blacks, whites to whites, and grounds together (as well as being attached to the device boxes if they are metal, and also to the fixture housing, if it's conductive).

'Course, what do I know - I'm just a licensed master electrician...