to touch or not to touch?

Question

I would like to change the ugly chandelier in the home I just moved in to, however, looking at it I am afraid to do so. There is this UN-COVERED wire hanging down in the chandlier change next to a covered wire. In the picture I saw while trying to figure out how to install a chandelier there was only one wire and it was covered. What is the thin uncovered wire then???? is it safe to touch it??? Pls help

Answer 1

Sounds like a ground wire to me, and in any case the power should be shut off to do any electrical work.

Steven Wolf

Answer 2

The uncovered wire should be either the ground wire in which someone tried to take a short cut on, or it is there to take up a link or two of chain. Before you do anything, turn off the breaker to the room or which ever circut that the chandelier is on. Doing that you can un-do what was done and do it right, if it was not in the first place.

Answer 3

. The light only needs two wires and it is working right? The ground is usually attached to the cover or metal junction box. It ether fell off or someone else worked on it and didn't know what to do with it. It should be green or no coatting at all. If not it could be a three way switch is there a wall switch that don't do anything in the room. Get an electrician.

Answer 4

In the worst case there should be 2 wires depending on the age of the home. Most older homes are suppose to have three wires, feed, return, and a ground. Allot of the times people took short cuts and did not connect the ground, or cut them short so they would not make connection and ground out the circuit. The new should have a black and a white and a ground (green, bare, usually smaller gage than the other 2.) If the black and white are in the box along with the neutral(ground) and your daring enough than follow black to black, white to white, bare to bare. If not then call an electrician. Electricity is not a hobby, beside who wants to play with something that could kill ya!

Answer 5

usually chandeliers have a factory two wire lamp cord running up the chain along with a separate ground wire running along side of it, (the lamp cord looks like cheap speaker wire.) It is completely safe. But if you are not fully comfortable doing it, hire a pro.

Answer 6

You must get an electrician to fix the exposed wire
or to replace the ugly chandelier with one you like.
It is dangerous to use anything electrical that has exposed wires.

Answer 7

all elecrical work should be done by a trained electrician. It's simply not worth the risk.

since you've just moved into your new home, why not have the electrican check out your smoke alarms and give the house a once over (checking the fuse box, powerpoints etc).

Answer 8

Turn the breaker to that light off. If you don't know which one it is turn off the "main" breaker just to be safe. Then follow the directions.

be sure to have a friend on hand to help get the chandelier down & the new one up.

Good Luck

Answer 9

Go to your electrical box & shut off the power that goes to the chandilier, then you can safely see what the wire is about.

Answer 10

it sounds like a safety wire. if it's thin and completely bare over it's entire length then that's what it is. it's meant to keep the fixture from crashing to the floor if the chain breaks.