Rewiring A Lamp Plug

Gather the necessary materials for your lamp.

Rewiring a lamp plug.

How to wire a new plug safely. A zinc plated nipple about 8 inches 20 cm long light bulb lamp cord lamp base plug lampshade socket socket cap harp knurl washer and a rubber washer. Tighten wires under screw heads and clip off any excess uninsulated conductor before you plug in lamp. Head to your local hardware store or visit an online supplier.

Cut off the old plug with a wire cutter stripper. The prongs on the plug may have corroded and the switch may not operate correctly. New plugs should only be attached to new or undamaged cords. To install a self clamping plug 1 cut off the cord at a right angle near the old plug or further up if there is cord damage.

Replacing a plug and rewiring electronics. Check whether the cord is polarized. If the cord and plug fail either test rewire the lamp. Strip the ends of the new cord and twist the strands clockwise.

Properly wired plug and lamp socket. At the top of the lamp hook the ends of the old and new cords together. Now that you know how to rewire a lamp we ll shed some light in the next section on how to replace an incandescent fixture. Illustration by steve stankiewicz.

Wrap electrical tape around the connection. Once it is unplugged take the lamp to a hardware store to determine what type of cord and plug will suit it best. Maintain the correct hot and neutral electrical paths from the outlet to the light bulb. Try the old cord to the new.

Either purchase a diy lamp socket kit or purchase the following. Changing plugs for large appliances can be complicated so amateurs should change only lamp radio clock or other small appliance plugs. If it is the neutral wire will be indicated by ribbed insulation a white stripe white.