Jay, thanks for your help, I’m a 73; yo woman that husband has dementia. I have a Waterford lamp that needs rewiring, thanks for your help I saved $100 that a repair man said he would do, then he canceled appointments a couple of times. So I took the challenge, that many said I couldn’t do, and successfully retired it myself.. never tell me I can’t do something. Lol
God bless you Mary Haley. You remind me of my wife. I call her my WOA (Woman of Action). She doesn't wait around for me to get to something unless she's already tried and can't make it work. Best to you! DFJ
Love your post, Mary. I am a senior lady in the same situation. My beloved husband has dementia and can no longer do these things. He has been my fountain of knowledge all these years and I’m a lifelong tomboy, always getting out the tools. Im sad we cannot do these projects together anymore. So special thanks to Jay for helping us with these extra tasks in our already-packed caregiving days. We love you fellas out there, too. ❤😊❤
ThisGirlSews - YOU ROCK! To hear you are a life-long learner and still being a participant in life is really great! We're glad this helped you and you now have a lamp you can enjoy and be reminded of your new-found wiring ability. Thanks for taking time to write! Best Regards, DFJ and DFM
5:11 A BIG THANKS -- You are the only one I've found that has illustrated how to determine polarity BEYOND the screw color designations. There's older sockets out there that are perfectly fine but lack the color coding on the screws (all silver screws for example). You took the time to show us the shapes of the terminals and what they connect to. This, I feel, is more substantial and more concrete than the color of the screws. This video could help someone who is color blind for example or has a factory defective socket (brass screw in the wrong place, two brass screws, etc).
Thank you so much! No one else talked about the smooth side and Ridge side. They would say red to hot and white to neutral. Red, white, what?.. it's a black cord with gold wire. 65 year old woman and I didn't have to ask for help because of you.😊
Thanks for your good explaining skills. I’m sixty years old and basically I still consider light bulbs, live T.V. and radio magic. My dad instilled adequate fear of jumping a car battery and anything to do with electricity, but now I can safely fix my lamp!💁♀️ I raised an engineer…but basically…it is still all magic IMO, and I’m glad you all have it figured out!
GerardoMjr - your dad is a very friendly and confident man. It was good to talk to him and hear of his enjoyment of our video episodes. I'm glad you find the videos to be helpful as well. Thanks for being a part of our viewer family! Best Regards, DFJ
Another good and more easily understandable way of saying it is that if you "reverse the polarity the lamp will always be energized." I absolutely copy and pasted that LOL
I bought two, late 1940s, early 1950s table lamps. I believe that I got a great deal, because they are gorgeous. However, there was no way that I was going to plug them in when I got them home. Jay, your video gave me the knowledge that I needed to be able to rewire my beautiful lamps. Your thorough instructions, and photographs made it much easier than I thought it would be. I was so impressed with myself 😉
Jay, THANK YOU for your lamp repair video! Yours included very important tips that several other videos on the same subject didn't bother mentioning -- like the difference between smooth and ridged wires and the Underwriter's Knot (which the other guys didn't even do)! Your clear instructions made the job not difficult at all!
Glad it helped, JonnyYooToober! We just rebuilt another lamp that was having problems just a week ago. Good as new. Glad you've acquired this skill and now it is yours! Best, DFJ
Excellent teaching! Plenty of detail without wasting time. My Pappah left me two hideous old lotus lamps and I LOVE them! They’re getting rewired and reshaded. 😁
thank you for clearing that up, I have been doing it right and i am almost 70... your friend is right about polarity, i watch so many videos about rewiring and it makes me cringe to see that they never point out the difference between proper wiring...thanks for sharing...
Thank You. I rewired my wheat grinder an after watching this video it was just dumb luck that it worked. Your videos make a light bulb go off in my head and I understand!
Very helpful, especially regarding polarity as many people think that if the bulb turns on and off properly with the switch, that the lamp is safely wired. It's very easy to touch the shell as you're screwing in a bulb, and you want that to be neutral. For example earlier this year my mother inherited a very old lamp from my great grandmother after she passed. Grandmother has used the lamp ever since I can remember, and Mom remembers Grandma using the lamp when she was a young girl. I pointed out to Mom that the plug should be changed, and the wiring verified, and explained to Mom that this plug has two prongs the same size, and you have a 50 -50 chance of getting buzzed when changing a light bulb, unless we replace this plug with a polarized plug and make sure the neutral is connected to the wide prong and the shell on the lamp. Mom had no idea since it worked for at least 50 years, if not longer with no problems. Just another helpful tip if you inherit an old lamp or other appliance, or have a relative that has older devices still in use.
Polarity should also be observed if the problem is the opposite end of the lamp cord, the plug. When replacing the molded plug with an aftermarket replacement plug, the wider terminal is the neutral and the narrower terminal is the live, or hot terminal.
Rodney, you are absolutely correct. I made more of an emphasis on that point in the video description, but should have done so in the video content itself. It does no good to wire it correctly at one "end" of the rewire and not do so at the other. You'll still have wrong polarity with all the inherent dangers. Thanks for the nudge and taking time to write! Best, DFJ
Rodney, I really like this topic and have decided to do another video building on the concept you've mentioned. I'd like to give you credit for it. How would you like to be mentioned? Here are some of the typical ways: 1.) Your screen name - Rodney Magee. 2.) Your known name, which also appears to be Rodney Magee. 3.) Your first name and last initial - Rodney M. And, finally, 4.) a variation on any of these - whatever way you wish to be identified (fully or partially), with a location. That would sound like, in the case of option 3, "Rodney M. of (City, State), wrote in and commented, .... we've taken his insight to heart and have created this episode. Thanks, Rodney, for the idea and inspiration..." Get back to me at your earliest opportunity and give me your thoughts on all this. And, thanks for being a part of our viewer family and being so engaged. Best Regards, DFJ
This is very helpful because I took both wires off before getting the knowledge of polarization. So happy I watched more than one video and read others comments. Thanks!
Thanks to this video, I successfully rewired a favorite table lamp. I didn't want to get rid of it just because the cord started to fray and it was dangerous. A local company that repairs lamps has gone out of business, so I decided to try myself. Thank goodness for RU-vid videos!
Thank you so much for making this! I just got a rewiring kit to repair an old lamp, and the instructions it came with were horrible. This video was really clear and easy to understand, and now my lamp works perfectly! :D Thank you!
Thanks for the educational information about hot and neutral sides and which screws to put them on properly. I just watched another video where the guy said it didn't matter! He disregarded the cardboard saying it's old and he used tape instead. I'm glad your video popped up first! Thanks for all the good advice! 👍
Anita, it's good to hear from you. I'm glad you found the info on proper routing of hot and neutral leads to be a safer way to go. When something is in a device, it's because it is needed for some reason. If the manufacturer could have left it out and saved costs, they would have. Best, DFJ
Thanks for the info on AC polarity. Too many RU-vidrs think that since this is AC current, polarity doesn't matter. Which is fine until you accidentally touch the live 120 volt outside terminal of the socket. Having been zapped with 120 volts once in my life, I am studiously avoiding it happening again. You want to check the lamp cord to determine which side of the plug connects to the live side of the circuit and make sure that conductor gets connected to the center (brass) contact in the socket. This is especially important with older plugs which are not polarized (both prongs are the same width.) It wouldn't be a bad idea if you're repairing an old lamp with an non-polarized plug to replace the cord with one having a polarized plug.
I think I did it! Found a few differences along the way - One screw on the old socket was tinted a greenish-blue. (Not brass.) The other was silver. I took that to mean the tinted one was for the hot wire. Also found no ridges on the black electrical lamp cord but there was a very fine bit of printing on one side of the wire. I put the whole thing together and no sparks flew. No circuits blown. Thank you for going into such detail on the polarity. You made my day!
Thanks Kim Ainsworth. Viewers like you make me smile and want to continue to share knowledge gained over my 65 year of life. Thanks for watching and commenting AND YOU MADE MY DAY today! Best, DFJ
So how do you tell which side positive/negative if there’s no ribbing.. I have a lamp with a green wire on one side intwined with other wires and on the other side there is black black stripping - does striping = ribbing?
I think this will become a most watched video. Our local Illinois hardware store, until about 10 yrs. ago, had an older man who would rewire things for $10. So handy to my vintage boutique down the street. Not sure I'll master this but still have many lamps that need re-wiring.. So helpful. Happy healthy 2020*
Mary Mary's Market - thanks for watching and taking time to write. We appreciate your kind comments. Glad to be of help to you, and well wishes to you as well for a happy and healthy 2020! Best Regards, DFJ
Hey Mr. Jay, Any chance you know how to shorten a tall table lamp? I inherited some nice lamps but they are too tall. If you could help I will send you a photo. Thanks. Linda PS: Your video helped me change my struts for my 2012 DGC. That was very easy with your help.
Winna, good to hear from you. Yes, indeed, feel free to send pictures of the lamps to: jay@dirtfarmerjay.com. I'll take a look and let you know what I think. I'm glad that we were helpful on that strut change out. Let's see if we can help on the lamps! Best, DFJ
"an unpleasant circumstance" , I'll say ! A very responsible video to have explained the ribbing on the neutral wire. You did not point this out when you wired it ( you did show a picture tho),but you had gone over it in the beginning so I think you have us covered. Also, some cord ends are painted on the soldered end black for hot connection. I am now subscribed Sir.
This video was very helpful and a very good reminder about the UL knot as well as polarity. Thank you, My husband has old oil lamps that have already been converted but need to be re-wired. I'm also hoping to add a switch to the cord as to avoid knocking them over when turning them on as we are clumsy :) Have a great day.
Thank you! I have two old lamps that were always in our living room, that I love. I'm not sure if they work anymore, and it would probably be safer to rewire them anyway.
Jay, I want to rewire a lamp that came on an industrial sewing machine. It's quite old, and instead of the kind of lamp cord you show in this video, it has two separate cords, one black and one white. Is one of the colors the hot wire and the other the ground wire? Thank you! This is an excellent video, and I'm going to use it to rewire some nice floor lamps that I have, that stopped working. But for now, I just want to rewire that machine lamp.
Shoe Maker - sorry I missed this earlier. The usual convention for current in cordage is the black conductor is "hot" and the white is the neutral - NOT the ground. The "white" circuit is the "return" back to the main panel or breaker. It sounds like you have an older ungrounded device. That needs to be corrected for your safety. Best, DFJ
After unplugging take pictures of every step taking it apart. I spent 3 hours trying to put it back together. Well it’s in the trash can in a bunch of pieces now
Jay, this video was amazing! I am 74 and lost my husband last year. I knew that it was not hard to change the socket, but I did not know where to begin. Tomorrow I go out to get the new socket and do it myself. Are there different sockets for 3 way lamps the just 1 wattage bulbs? I will be so proud when I talk to my handy friends and tell them I did it myself.
Hello Jay. I just inherited Dad's ancient double socket floor lamp. But each socket has only one wire for it. Is this wire supposed to be hand-separated for wrapping around the two screws? The whole idea seems extremely unsafe. I wish I had taken note of the original config when I took it apart last summer.....
We have a old double chain cord, my husband really got mad when I spray paint it black over the pink he said that was was 1st color, enough with that. This lamp has a funny upside down Y shape to me.
I have a 1970's leaded glass swag lamp that I just bought. The cord was cut 2 ft from the bulp and I spliced a new one from a kit with new chain and a rolling type switch to it. It works... I checked it for the groove on the cord- neither side has it.
Yes, it is. That's because you want the "hot" side of the circuit to go through the switch first before arriving at the lamp base. Otherwise, the lamp base and it's shield could possibly be energized and if touched, electricity could find a path to ground through you. Not good. I hope that helps. Best, DFJ
I need to rewire a lamp because when I turn it on it doesn’t click on & the bulb flickers or the bulb comes on & goes off. Maybe the insides are shot, I don’t want to throw the lamp away as the stem is marble & I paid $80 for it new 10 years ago. I also bought a used brass antique lamp I think needs a new switch cause it’s very hard to turn on & off. Thank you for the demo!
10TOES, I agree with you, the "guts" in the socket appear to be worn out and aren't making solid contact either with the threaded portion of the bulb, or the bottom button. Either way, without dependable, solid contact, you are going to get flicker. Tem same with your brass lamp. The parts are simply wearing out. Fortunately, these parts are readily accessible and simple to change out, as demonstrated in the video. Simply get the needed keyed or keyless lamp base (aka switched or non-switched) as needed, and proceed. Let us know how it turns out! Best, DFJ
d m, thanks for writing. Another clue is to see how the plug is wired. If you have a wide and narrow blade on the plug, the wide is the neutral, the narrow is the hot. If both are narrow, and its the original plug, you have a non-polarized plug and it can be inserted either way. I hope this helps! Best, DFJ
Heather, begin with a close inspection and see where the burnt smell is coming from. Something is either shorting out or overheating somehow. Having said that, I would go ahead and replace both the wire and the socket just to be safe. Both don't don't cost that much and will give you new components in your lamp, so there is no real downside to replacing both. Thanks for watching our video! If you haven't already, please subscribe! Best Regards, DFJ
If a lamp was not given correct polarity, is it immediately obvious? I know a lamp i own had been rewired, it has never shocked me or anything but since i placed it near some electronics, they all stopped working. Is any of this related? I'm going to pull it apart this weekend to check.
I took both wires off before making a note about which was which. I didn't know about polarity. Now I am afraid to attach them to the new socket. What should I do? Thanks so much! B.C. Canada Also there is not an underwriters knot between the wires and not any slack in the two wires also. Thanks again!
I got the hard ridge of the cord right. The top of the lamp (where you’re supposed 2 squeeze) doesn’t come off as easily as I thought 😢 Had 2 stop there, and I already foresee a *huge hardship* @ the terminal
I cannot reassemble the socket onto the lamp stem, no matter how hard I try. I pull the wires from below but it never can be aligned at the top to screw it on, so the socket just falls over, dangling down. I am so frustrated! Is there some trick to reassembling?
Amanda, sorry to not get back to you sooner. If you haven't solved this yet, let me see if I can help. Please go to www.homestratosphere.com/lamp-parts/. Look at the diagram and tell me if this is similar to what your lamp is. If so, use the part descriptions and tell me what parts are not going back together. We can go from there - don't give up. Best, DFJ
Jay, i am not sure if or when you'll read this, but I need your advice. I have a floor lamp that hasn't worked for some time now because I used a 100 watt bulb instead of the 65 watt bulb ( max) allowed. Can I still replace the socket and rewire the lamp. Or should I throw it out?
If you like the lamp, it is easy to rewire with a new higher-rating socket and the correctly rated wiring. Also, with the lower power demand of LED lights, you can have a keeper if you want to. Let me know how it turns out! Best, DFJ
Excellent video, thank you. I only wish you had actually shown how to completely disassemble the lamp and run a new cord. I believe there is threaded rod running down the core of my ceramic lamp and I have to undo the fastener at the bottom and figure out how the socket base unscrews at the top. There is a tiny hex nut locking down the lamp shade bow holder with the BROKEN bakelite socket holder just above that. My socket may be "keyless" as the wires look soldered but a tiny pick might release a spring retainer so I don't have to cut and re-strip the wires. My repair is to the socket holder. I've purchased an entire new socket assembly, but I have to remove that broken socket holder.
Geoff, let me know how this turns out. Thanks for the feedback on the episode. We've had a strong interest in this topic, so it's likely we'll do another edition and will show lamp disassembly. Best, DFJ
@@DirtFarmerJay Well, I won't be able to install the new socket for at least a week but in the meantime realized I did not need to fully disassemble the lamp. The old socket was indeed back-stabbed with tinned wires so releasing the tension with a jeweler's screwdriver was all that was needed to pull the wires intact. If there was cord damage, I could have untied the underwriters knot and pulled the cord out. The nuts at top and bottom holding the lamp together are very low profile. As I said, I need a new socket holder. With the old one "broken", I wasn't afraid of breaking it further as it would not unscrew. I broke it into pieces trying to unscrew it with pliers and discovered it had been glued onto the threaded rod. The replacement socket holder is 1/8 IP thread and should go on just fine once it arrives.
What if your socket has three screws and the wire comes out has two screws what do you do with the third screw everybody showing these switches but nobody's showing the one with three screws what do you do jump one out
Charlie, my apologies for not getting back to you sooner. You have a keyless three-way lamp. By rotating the switch, you can set three different brightness settings. Here is a short article on this type of lamp and how it is wired: www.lamppartsrepair.com/2019/05/3-way-keyless-socket-interior.html I hope this helps! Best, DFJ
And here's another question: the old wiring is solid core, and when I tried to bend the end around a screw, it broke off. It's copper. Is it possible that being old and having been used with electricity for a long time made the wire more brittle?
Shoe Maker, indeed, copper, like any metal, can become a bit brittle as it ages, especially when there has been significant temperature variations experienced over a long time. Best, DFJ
Sometimes I like cutting cords from lamps that dont work or old electronics. Can I rewire a lamp using one of those cords or would you recommend a new cord? Thanks. Britt
@AwesomeDude1, I would suggest new cords. Old cordage tends to get brittle. Having said that, if the cords you have are in good shape, still supple, and the conductors are good, why not give them a second life? Best, DFJ
I cut s cord off of a old pole lamp that was broken. I want to put it on a old green pole lamp,the current cord on the green lamp is in bad shape. It looks like the ends are burnt.
Dianne, thanks for watching and writing! You have a slightly different type of lamp and lamp base, but it's still readily repairable. Here's the basics. First, the lamp base you'll need is called a keyless lamp base. Here's a link about this you might find to be helpful: www.antiquelampsupply.com/18-how-to-choose-the-right-socket-for-your-lamp. This type does not have any switching device, but utilizes a switch either somewhere on the lamp itself or a "line switch" on the power cord. Second, you'll need to get a length of lamp cord, the new keyless base, and a switch and simply replace the parts that are now currently on your lamp. When you do, you should be good to go! Let us know how it turns out! Best, DFJ
Wow, you got me there. I don't have that type of lamp, so I couldn't advise you authoritatively. I'd try Quora or Reddit and see what you can come up with. Best, DFJ
Leonard, thanks for watching and writing. I assuming the brass housing around the light bulb base? If so, you'll see a series of indentations around the base. Use a small straight screwdriver blade to work your way around levering that out and you'll have the round housing release. Let me know how this goes for you! Best, DFJ
There is no harm if you put a 3-way bulb in a one-way socket as only the middle pole will be energized, so the bulb will glow at it's medium (middle) setting. Thanks for watching and writing! Best, DFJ
Well... I am confused! I have a socket with the little turn knob and I am changing this out on my lamp. My socket has three screws. I have a silver one, a brass one and a grey gunmetal screw. What am I doing with this extra screw and what is it for? Can anyone answer me correctly so I can do things safely. I am scared of electric and doing it the wrong way :(
Suzie B., it appears you have a lamp that is wired for 220 volts, which is more common in Europe than it is in the U.S. If you are in the U.S., it appears that you have come across a lamp that someone brought from "across the pond." I hope that helps! Best, DFJ
Great video! Thank you. Unfortunately my lamp does not have a switch by the bulb. The switch is on the cord. It seems that when the light is turned on and you move the cord. The light blinks. I'm thinking it just needs a new cord or the cord is loose somewhere inside the lamp. Do you have a video for that, that you can send me to? A lamp that has the on/off switch on the cord? Thanks!
I'm not an electrician Theresa but it sounds like you're right about needing a new cord. You should be able to get the cord at a hardware store or 'big box' place that has the switch on the cord then do everything that Jay did. If you want the switch on the socket you can buy that style too and a regular lamp cord. There are three types of sockets, one with no switch, one with a twist switch and the type that pushes on/off. You can also get a twist switch for a three way bulb.
