# 3 wire to 2 wire device



## 220/221 (Oct 9, 2007)

Describe the wires in the box. You have 3 insulated wires?

Typically it's black to black, white to white.

And we KNOW that the landlord didn't take the fan down:laughing:


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## Apartmentdweller (Dec 27, 2008)

Yes, actually he did, then he gave up. Red,white, black and ground. All trace back to the switch. It is not a three way circuit from what I can tell.


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## wirenut1110 (Apr 26, 2008)

Just use black, white, ground. Cap the red off


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## ponch37300 (Nov 27, 2007)

Most of the 3 wire i have seen to fans the red is the switch leg from the swtich and the black is steady power for the fan. You will need to figure out which wire(red or black) works with the switch, if you want your light to turn on/off with the switch. You can buy a tester for under 10 bucks or do trial and error. Connect the black or red wire to the black wire on the light and see if it works with the switch, if not use the other wire and cap the one your not using off with a wire nut.


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## 220/221 (Oct 9, 2007)

Typically black = fan, red = light.

Your fixture probably has black and white.

Hook color to color and you have a 50% chance of it being right.

Make sure the power is off at the *breaker.* There is a possibility that the black (or red) wire is always hot.


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## ftnguyen (Sep 10, 2017)

Hi There,

Please show us how to connect four wires Black/Blue/white/Green-ground from a light/fan to the two wires of the ceiling fixture?

Thank you so much for your help!


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## dmxtothemax (Oct 26, 2010)

White to white.
Black and blue to black.
green or bare to green.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Black is fan power. Blue is light power.
As stated connect both blue and black to black.


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## Randee (4 mo ago)

I've got the same thing goin on. 
I have black, white and bare. 
Do you just hook up the black and white, then trim off the bare?


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## Jim Port (Sep 21, 2007)

No not trim the ground.


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## Frank Lavorngia (7 mo ago)

Apartmentdweller said:


> My landlord removed a ceiling fan / light so I could replace it with an overhead light. Problem is there are 3 wires in the box coming from a single 3 wire switch.
> How do I attach my 2 wire light fixture and leave the wires intact so he can reinstall the fan when I move out. I have no test tools or meter.


Cap the red off. put the bare copper to the mettalic bracket of your light. Your light may be old and not have a equipment grounding screw. Twist it around a piece of the metal bracket or look for a place to thread a grounding type screw, ussually green.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

14 year old thread


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## Frank Lavorngia (7 mo ago)

chandler48 said:


> 14 year old thread


The forum pushes that stuff up , it says "reccomended". But, thanks I'll start looking at the dates.


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## Frank Lavorngia (7 mo ago)

chandler48 said:


> 14 year old thread


The moderators should go through and close threads that are a couple years old or sooner.


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