How to Identify Positive & Negative Wires for a Chandelier

By Home & Garden Last updated Monday, June/24/2024

1). Turn off the breaker or remove the fuse that leads to the chandelier's electrical box.
2). Remove the screws from the electrical box cover with a screwdriver. Remove the electrical box cover. Loosen and remove the screws holding the crossbar in place, and remove the crossbar from the electrical box.
3). Pull the wires out of the electrical box gently and check their colors. The switched hot wire will be red, neutral wires will be white, and any “always-on” hot wires will be black. Grounding wires will either be green or lack insulation altogether.
4). Check the wires on the chandelier. Many chandeliers are wired with a black hot wire and a white neutral wire. However, a chandelier with a lamp-style cord will have one of the following identifiers for the neutral wire: silver conductors, labeling on the insulation jacket, squared corners, or ribs and indentations on the insulation. The unmarked wire on the chandelier is the hot wire.

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