Rewiring A Bridge Arm Floor Lamp Socket and Cord

A customer brought in this bridge arm floor lamp the other day and asked for it to be repaired. The socket was no longer working and they wanted it fixed. We identify this as a bridge arm floor lamp from the top piece being a Bridge Arm.

11998i - 12" Cast Iron "Bows & Clovers" Bridge Lamp Arm

From the pictorial lamp part index, we can see the parts list for a bridge arm lamp.

As usual, we start with an inspection of the lamp. Other than the socket not operating, we find the plug is not polarized. The customer agrees to replace the cord set with a matching antique brass color cord.

The lamp parts needed for this repair include:

1 - Antique Brass Push-thru Socket with UNO Threaded Shell

48280A - Brass Early Electric Style Lamp Socket, Antique BRASS Finish, Push-Thru, On/Off function, UNO Thread Shell

1 - 12 foot Unfinished Brass Cord Set

46727 - 12 Ft. Length, Unfinished Brass Color, Lamp Cord Set, 18/2 SPT-1A

First, we want to make sure the lamp is unplugged. We start to disassemble the lamp by opening the socket. With a flat head screw driver, pry open the socket by putting pressure on the socket shell near the socket cap.

Slide the socket shell off the socket interior and unscrew the wire terminals.

Unscrew the socket cap from the bridge arm swivel.

Now, we will pull the new lamp cord up from the base of the lamp and through the bridge lamp arm. Since the old cord is being discarded, we will use it as a feed line. Cut off the old plug and strip the cord. Attach the new cord to the old cord and pull the new cord up the lamp toward the bridge arm.

Screw the new socket cap on the bridge arm and completely pull the cord up the lamp.

Remove the old cord from the new cord. Split the new cord ends and tie a UL knot in the cord. Attach the new socket interior to the cord. The smooth cord connects to the brass screw terminal and the ribbed cord connects to the nickel screw terminal. Pull any cord slack from the socket back down to the base of the lamp and slide the socket shell over the interior. Snap the socket shell into the socket cap.

Note: With UNO style sockets, the shade usually mounts on the end of the socket with an UNO shade holder. It is really important to check the socket shell and make sure it is securely fastened into the socket cap.

Add a bulb and test the lamp.

Total cost <$15.00 Total time < 40 minutes