How to Wire a Floor Lamp With One Upper Bulb & Two Lower Bulbs

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Things You'll Need

  • Double stranded lamp wire (14 gauge)

  • Lamp plug

  • Insulated electrical wire (black and white)

  • Wire cutters

  • Wire strippers

  • Wire nuts

  • Screwdriver

Wire nuts are used to connect multiple wires together.

Many light fixtures, floor lamps and table lamps have multiple light bulbs powered from one switch and a single plug. A single electrical feed can be used to power more than one electrical device, including light bulbs. Such a circuit is a basic electrical configuration and is referred to as "wiring in parallel." Knowing this basic wiring configuration will be helpful as it is used in many applications, including the electrical circuits in a house.

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Step 1

Cut a piece of the lamp wire with wire cutters to a desired length to run from the fixture to a plug. Attach the plug to one end or the cable following instructions of the plug manufacturer. This is the light cord found on all lamps.

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Step 2

Feed the other end of the cord into the fixture to reach the switch. Strip the insulation off the ends of each of the cord wires with wire strippers (about 1/2 inch).

Step 3

Attach one of the cord wires to one side of the switch. (Connect the wires with wire nuts if the switch has wires coming off it; otherwise, attach the wire to the socket terminals with a screwdriver. Follow this procedure throughout). Cut a piece of black wire (long enough to reach the first bulb). Strip 1/2 inch of the insulation off both ends and attach one end of the wire to the other side of the switch.

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Step 4

Feed the black wire and the other cord wire to the first bulb socket. Cut a length of black and white wire to reach from the first socket to the second and remove 1/2 inch of insulation off both ends of each wire. Strip off the insulation off the remaining cord wire. Attach the cord wire and the white wire to one side of the socket and the black wire from the switch and a second black to the other side of the socket.

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Step 5

Feed the unconnected ends of the white and black wires to the second bulb socket. Cut another white and black wire long enough to reach the third bulb socket and strip 1/2 inch of insulation off each end of both wires. Attach the black wire from the first socket and the other black wire to one side of the socket, then attach the white wire from the first socket and the other white wire to the other side of the socket.

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Step 6

Feed both the black and white wires to the third socket and attach the black wire to one side of the socket and the white wire to the other side of the same socket. The lamp switch will now turn all three bulbs on or off.

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