Tuesday, April 30, 2019

6 Arm Chandelier With Cluster Gets Rewired

A customer brought in this chandelier the other day and asked to have it rewired. After looking at the sockets and wiring, we agreed this chandelier needed new wires, sockets, and candle covers.


As usual for any repair, we want to look at the whole project and make a list of required items. Too many trips to the hardware store can discourage from future projects. The lamp parts we need for this project are:

6 - Adjustable Keyless Fixture Sockets
Adjustable Keyless Candelabra


6 - White Paper Candle Covers
Flat White Smooth Plain Paper Board Candle Cover


2 - Wire Nuts or Wire Connectors
Wire Nuts


40 - 45 foot of Clear Silver SPT-1 Lamp Wire

Here you can choose the value option of a spool:

Or you can get 4 of the 12 foot Cord Sets with Clear Silver SPT-1 and Cut them to size:

With all the lamp parts ready, we will begin the repair. First, we will hang the lamp for access and remove the excess chain and other parts that are just in the way.





Next, we unscrew the bottom cluster cap from the cluster body.



Now we can move this project to the table top and begin to remove the body pieces off the column of the chandelier. The top loop unscrews from the threaded rod. Since we are rewiring this fixture, we cut the cord at the top of the column so when the parts are removed, they do not have to go through excess wire.






The rest of the column pieces slip off the threaded rod. Remember to take a picture or keep the parts in the right order for reassembly. The final piece sets just on top of the cluster.








Next, we will focus on rewiring 1 arm at a time. With 6 arms, each one is wired the same way. We remove any existing wire nuts, connectors, or in this case: tape. The old candle covers slip off the old fixture sockets. Cut the wires or unscrew the screw terminals on the socket and disconnect the wire. Unscrew the socket from the threaded rod in the dish or bobesche of the chandelier. Repeat for the other chandelier arms.








Pull the old wires out of the chandelier arms. If the arms are narrow or have complex bends, you can attach the new cord to the old cord. Then when you pull the old wire out, the new wire pulls in behind it. We have discussed this technique in other post of the blog. For this chandelier, the arms are straight and short. Each arm is wired with about 5 inches slack on the socket end and in the cluster.







The new fixture socket screws on the thread of the arm. The wire is striped about 1/2 inch and connected to the screw terminal. The wire look similar, but there is a thin rib on one wire and the other wire is smooth. Typically in house wires there is a hot wire and a neutral wire. For lighting we want to wire the hot to hot so most often the smooth wire is designated for the hot side or the black house wire.

For chandelier sockets, connect the smooth wire to the brass screw terminal. Connect the ribbed wire to the nickle screw terminal. Make sure each socket is wired the same. Replace the wire from the column or body of the chandelier making sure you leave plenty of length for the chain or any drop length. In the cluster connect the smooth wires together with the smooth wire to the canopy and the ribbed wires are all connected together.





The column pieces are slipped back over the center rod of the chandelier. Refer to the photo you took earlier before the lamp was disassembled. The top loop screws back on the threaded rod.







Reconnect the chain to the top loop of the column.







Hang the chandelier up and reconnect the bottom part of the cluster.





Slip paper insulators and the candle covers over the fixture sockets.







This chandelier is ready for some bulbs and power.


With new wires, sockets, and insulators, this chandelier is ready for use.

Total Cost < $ 50 Total Time < 1.5 Hours