Ceiling electrical box has black, white, red and no ground?

Question

Well, I finally installed my new light fixture to find out that the switch on the wall does not turn the lights off?!

I have coming from the ceiling's box a group of black, a group of white and a single red (there is no bare copper ground). The fixture has a black, a white and a bare copper ground. I attached the copper ground to the fixture's mounting bracket, black to the group of blacks from the ceiling, and the white to the group of whites from the ceiling, and left the red alone.

What is going on? Should I attach the red to the blacks?

Answer 1

I am the President of the United States and I am an electrical engineer as well as nuclear physicist and a rocket scientist in my spare time. I can answer any question, because I am Uber intelligent. I promise I won't burn down your house or blow up your garage, and I assure you that we will win the war in Iraq (and Iran, and Afghanistan).

Answer 2

Joseph C has a good answer. Depending on where you are from some cities require rigid or flexible metal conduit, this can and does act as a ground, no wire necessary in rigid metal. Not required in flexible if it is run less than 6 feet. The group of black wires is most likely a junction of hot wires connected through the ceiling box and feeding outlets (if your light is staying on continously this would be why), the red wire is most likely the switch wire that should be connected to the black wire for the light (always assume all wires are live and test them with an electrical tester) when connecting a light fixtures just remember that only one live power wire runs between the switch and the fixtures and only one live power wire should be connected to the fixture the fact that there is a group of blacks would tell you not to use them, the white wire should be your neutral and connected correctly. As a general rule, ground wires are green, neutral wires are white and any color should be considered a hot or switch wire. Please don't listen to anybody telling you that black or red wires are grounds or neutrals that would be dangerous.

Answer 3

This is a note to everyone, especially when dealing with electricity. Unless the person answering the question indetifies that they are an electrician do not trust there adivce.

More then one person has said that the black would be your ground. DO NOT DO THIS. Ground will be ALWAYS be green or bare copper. The idiots who said that should be takeing out and electructed. If you connected the ground to the black, as soon as there is a voltage on the black you will be causeing a dead short and if your lucky will trip the breaker if not you will cause a dead short and your house may burn down, and are those idiots going to pay for it, probably not.

Now to answer your question.

My guess(without being there) is that at one point someone had a ceiling fan where you are putting that fixture. The black and red would be used to control the fan and light seperatly and the white is your neutral. You have to figure out which wire is always hot and then figure out which wire to control the light at the ceiling box.

I would highly recommend you hiring an electrician as you seem to be in way over your head.

Answer 4

Don't attach the black to the reds unless you just want to trip the circuit breaker or blow a fuse. The black is probably your line or power wire, the white is the neutral and the red is another quasi neutral that is used when you have multiple switches for a light. Like a switch at the bottom and a switch at the top of the stairs. Sometime a room will have two separate switches for a light. The boxes are probably grounded separately by a copper wire run by itself.

Answer 5

Take the switch out of the wall and look to see what color wires are hooked to it. The power could be fed to the light and then to the switch and back again. No bare ground wire means that metal armoured cable is used. This means that the metal box is the ground. The red wire could be the return power from the switch. Or it could be a feed wire from the switch if the power originally starts at the switch. You really have to look at it first. Please use a neon or digital tester to test the wires and please be careful.

Answer 6

The black should be the ground. The red should be the primary hot wire and the white should be a switch wire. This is a 3-way circuit. There are two switches that will control this light.

Answer 7

look and see which wires grounded at the service panel

Answer 8

The black should be the ground. The red should be the primary hot wire and the white should be a switch wire.

Answer 9

Yes.