Wiring a halogen light with a plug

[nash123]

I just posted something in the general garage area but then noticed that there is actually a lighting area, so I wanted to post it here too, Admin can remove the other post if necesaary:

I bought this light:

http://www.regentlighting.com/common...logen&id=11963

user's manual:

http://www.cooperlighting.com/specfi...20825-0143.pdf

and I am trying to wire it so that I can plug it in in the garage. I bought a 10' long extension cord and cut the female end. I also bought a junction box. I connected the black wire to black, white wire to white using the yellow wire nuts.


Questions:

1. The extension cord wires are much thicker than the wires coming out of the light. Will this be a problem? How can I match the wire sizes coming out of the light with the extension cord wires?

2. The ground wire connections are a bit questionable. The bare wire coming out of the light will be connected to the bare wire from the extension cord with a wire nut. The bare wire coming from the green screw of the light (connected to the screw with a pigtail) and the bare wire (not supplied) coming from the green screw of the j-box will also somehow need to be connected to the bare wire on the extension cord. What is the best way to do it? I was thinking about running the wire from the light green screw to the j-box green screw (tighten it under the j-box screw) and run that same wire to the bare wire on the extension cord and connect all three bare wires with one wire nut. Would this be acceptable? The attached pic shows what I am planning to do. The local Home Depot does not sell any bare wire with pigtails, which I found interesting

3. And finally, I found out that the extension cord says on it: 3/C 16AWG. I believe it means 3 conductors (white/black/green), right? How about 16AWG? Does it tell me anything about the size of the wires?

Thanks in advance.

 

[nadogail]

The fatter wires in the extension cord are a good thing. They are more than adequate to supply the thinner wires in the lamp. The lamp controls how much electrical energy is condcted through the extension cord.

I feel you will be fine looping the bare wire under the Ground Screw before connecting it to the Green conductor of the extension cord.

You are fine with a 16 Guage extension cord for this application. Wire guages, are like shotgun guages, the bigger the number; the smaller the size. AWG is shorthand for American Wire Guage.

Match the colors when you make connections, Black to Black, White to White, etc. If you decide to add a switch, it belongs in the black wire. Do not switch the White Wire.

 

[2LTim]

The bare wires and ground wires are for safety. Any wire of equal or larger size can be stripped to make pigtails for ground. The big box stores typically sell green pigtails for use on ground circuits. Green and bare are always used for ground, nothing else.