2007-07-09 08:31:17 · 5 answers · asked by pbf 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
The safety wire is used to prevent you from getting shocked if the hot wire ever goes to the frame of the lamp. With the wire attached, if the hot wire goes to a metal part on the lamp, then the fuse will blow and it will be safe. Without it, there is a chance that the hot wire would make the base of the light hot, and when you touched the lamp, your body would complete the circuit and you would get shocked. good luck.
2007-07-09 08:40:56 · answer #1 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is there for safety both personal and equipment (house). In case the hot wire shorts to ground, in this case the fixture. If is wasn't there and you get a short from the hot wire to the fixture it becomes a shock hazard to you or anyone that touches it. Also there is the related fire danger as well. And no you can not safely remove it. It is there for your safety.
Also you are going to have a gold and silver colored screw terminals or in some cases push in terminals on the fixture the hot wire goes to the gold terminal and the neutral goes to the silver terminal. They should not be interchanged. Reason is the gold terminal connects to the center contact in the light socket and the silver terminal connects to the out side of the light socket (threaded part you screw the light bulb into.
2007-07-09 08:47:25 · answer #2 · answered by JUAN FRAN$$$ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The purpose is to prevent the current from going somewhere other than the actual ground if there is a problem. In the case of a lamp, I would think it's safe to remove it because only recently did lamps come with ground wires at all. I wouldn't remove it if it were a fan, but a simple light bulb is okay.
2007-07-09 08:37:22 · answer #3 · answered by Klaatu verata nichto 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The grounding wire, usually green, is intended to channel any short directly to the path of least Resistance going to the ground. This is usually easier than going through your body, which could possibly kill you.
I would not try to remove one, it is there for a purpose.
Better yet, ground the receptacle you are dealing with, even if the incoming wire has no ground wire to hook the green one to in the fixture you are dealing with. Then the green wire attached to the box in the wall will suffice.+
2007-07-09 08:38:59 · answer #4 · answered by The Parthian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the grounding wire grounds all metal surfaces in case the neutral fails and you don't have a floating hot
unless its a isolated ground that's a differ story
2007-07-09 10:26:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋