This all on same breaker. Left, spliced wires are hot, but do nothing and there’s no switch for them.

Wires on the right are on a switch that controls two other lights closer to the breaker.

Can I just removed the splice and terminate the hot wires into a box mounted on the rafter?

i think the spliced goes to these wires, then leads somewhere else?

  • ThisOne@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    2 days ago

    Wagos my man, wagos. Its wire nuts from the future.

    Kill the breaker undo whatever the monstrosity is. Each hot, neutral, and ground gets its own Wago. You buy the type that has enough holes for your problem. If theres 3 hot legs that all should all go together after you remove the fixtue get (3) 3-holes (one for 3 hots one for 3 neutrals one f0r 3 grounds). Strip the hot wires so theres no bare copper outside the Wago and clip em all in the Wago, do the neutrals and grounds in their own wagos and your done. No fire haze. Safer than wire nuts and easier. And I’m not a salesman just used em before.

    Wagos!

    probably you need 12awg size (the thickness of the copper cable)

    Hardware store or amazon. Seriously easy. Cheap. No need for a box. Works just as well for weird 4 wire 277v or whatever.

    …just dont put hot and neutral together. Hots with hots neutrals with neutrals…

    • JeanValjean@piefed.socialEnglish
      10·
      2 days ago

      I agree with using the Wagos, as they are the best thing ever for tying wires together. Get a bunch of 2 and 3 holes, and a 25 pack of five holes. Grounds need to be continuous so they get pigtailed to the fixture under the green screw, and under the box screw if you use a metal box, which I generally use in ceilings. If your box is metal and doesn’t have a ground screw, they sell them at the hardware store as well.

      I would argue that a splice should always be in a box or within a rated fixture to keep home inspectors and code inspectors happy. Boxes must be accessible. Your local Authority Having Jurisdiction may allow them to be behind a drop ceiling, but you cannot drywall over them without cutting a hole and adding a blank plate.

      If you’re joining to existing, it looks like you’ll need 12 awg as mentioned above. If pulling all new you can use 14 awg since led fixtures are unlikely to ever pull 15 amps, though I rewired the outlets and fixtures in my garage with all 12 awg for future proofing and would recommend the same. You can put a 15A breaker on 12 awg but not a 20A on 14 awg.

      For wire made since around 2001, yellow is 12 awg and white is 14 awg. For wire before that, you need to read the jacket.