Wiring floodlights can get a bit tricky, especially if you don’t know which wire goes where. You will also need to understand some basic stuff. The process is actually very easy once you understand them.
Without wasting any more of your time, let’s get to it. In this article, I’m going to show you how you can wire your floodlights or landscape lighting kits. Here are the things you will need.
- Wire stripper
- Heat shrink wire connector
- Heat gun
- A magnifying glass with helping hand
- Digital clamp meter
- Floodlights
Contents
How to Wire Floodlights And Where to Place
Step 1 – Learning The Basics
First of all, take your preferred 10W or whatever flood light you have. The problem with this type of light is that they don’t come with a plug on the end, and for that reason, you will have wire these lights.
When you take the light, check the cable, and make sure there are three different colored wires. The blue wire is the zero connection. The brown one is for the phase, and the yellow or green is the grounding.
source: amazon
Step 2 – Grounding
Open the back part of the light fixture. There, you will see the yellow sire that isn’t connected to anything. That yellow wire isn’t there to make the flood light work. Rather, it is there to protect you from getting shocked.
This is called the ground wire, and it will usually be either green or yellow in the USA. In the event of a faulty current, this wire will trip the circuit breaker and neutralize the charge to prevent an electric shock.
For this wire to do its job, it must be connected to the fixture. Place it over a hole in the fixture & secure this wire with a screw.
Step 3 –Understanding Wires
Now that you know what grounding is let’s move forward. In this process, you will have to attach the three wires from the extension cord with the three wires from the floodlight.
Before you do that, make sure the extension cord is long enough to reach your main power source. It’s better to check the length first before you connect the wires.
Keep this short chart in mind:
- Blue – Neutral
- Brown – Hot
- Yellow/Green – Ground
Read the manual that comes with your solar powered outdoor flood lights first before you do anything else. Also, if you don’t know the configuration of a typical US outlet, search it online and give it a good read.
Here is a quick sneak peek. A typical USA solar power outlet has three circles. The top right is hot, top left is neutral, and the bottom circle is ground. Now take a look at the extension cord.
The green will be the ground wire, the smooth brown wire will be hot, and the red wire will be neutral. You can prove this formula by doing a continuity test.
Step 4 – Connecting The Wires
Now you know that you have to connect the yellow wire to the green wire, the brown wire to the smooth wire and the blue wire to the ribbed wire. Instead of soldering these wires together, it’s easier to use a heat shrink solder tubing.
In a heat shrink solder tube, you will there are silver parts in the middle. Insert both of the wires you want to connect and use a heat gun the heat up the soldering tube.
When heated, the silver part in the middle will melt. This will fuse the wires together. At the same time, the glue on each side will melt, which forms a watertight seal.
Repeat this step for each of the wires and wait for a few minutes for the solder tube to cool down. Now, take another piece of heat shrink and preferably a large one and cover the connected wires and then heat the final piece of heat shrink.
All you have to do now is fasten the ground wire to the fixture. If you have already done it, then skip it.
source: amazon
Step 5 – Reassemble
Put the back cover back in and tighten the screws. And that’s is. Now you know how easy it is to wire a floodlight and also know where to place them.
Helpful Tips
If you are still not confident in your electrical skills, don’t be shy. Hire a professional for help. You can also use this method to attach the wires to an on/off button.
However, this step doesn’t have grounding, so you won’t have to do anything to the yellow or green cable. Also, make sure to turn off the main switch before your test anything. Flood lights has many advantages, so you should buy it for your outdoor.
Conclusion
Before buying the best flood lights for your home, you should know how to wire them. Most people don’t even try to wire floodlights on their own. As a matter of fact, the process is so easy that even a newbie with proper tools can do it. Try it out; let your inner DIYer out.
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