I was changing a lightbulb in a fluorescent fixture. In so doing, I broke one of the sockets. Damn.
As luck would have it, I have two unused light fixtures by the same manufacturer. So, I have a total of eight sockets to pull from. So, I went out to the garage to dismantle one of these fixtures. I easily liberated the socket from the fixture and used brute force to pull the wires from it. I then did the same with the broken socket in the house (yes, I ensured that there was no power).
How do I get the wires into the unbroken socket? I thought I could just poke them into the holes, but that doesn’t seem to be working. Is there a secret to it that I’m missing?
Normally, you just push them into the holes and they hold themselves in place. You may have broken something when you pulled them out, I’ve done that. Try twisting the next one as you pull it out. Spin it or work it back and forth while pulling. You’ll be less likely to break something.
Using brute force to pull the wires from the sockets means that they will no longer hold wires. Use wire cutters and wire strippers. Go back to the unused fixtures and get another socket. Cut the wires leaving about 3 to 6 inches of wire connected to the sockets. Strip the insulation off the wires. connect using wire nuts.
That will probably work best. Some of the “tombstones” have a release slot that will accept a very small screwdriver. By pressing against the metal piece inside, it will release the wire. Cheaper fixtures won’t have that feature, of course.
OTOH some of them have a very small slot that when a very small screwdriver is stuck into it, said very small screwdriver will get stuck because it’s not a release…just another regular slot.
I’ve had the best lock just twisting it back and forth and carefully working it out. Though cutting the wires and using wirenuts will work as well, but I try make as few connections as possible.
I will attempt removing another socket by twisting a working the old wire out more carefully. These sockets do not seem to have any kind of a quick release (like a quick-release on an electrical outlet, for example). If that doesn’t fix the problem, I will use the splicing method described.
I can hardly wait for the sun to come up so I can get to work!
since you don’t know the method by which the wire is held in the socket then you don’t know if you have it in there in a durable and permanent fashion.
Many of the cheaper lights don’t have any release mechanism at all – the wires are permanently connected when they are manufactured, with the expectation that they will be replaced rather than repaired.
In that case, the replace-and-splice method is your only option.
Thank you all for your help. I ended up using a combination of approaches. Long story short is that my kitchen is now well illuminated. Wife is happy and all is swell. Thanks so much.