How to wire a light fixture with a green wire?

Question

Help! My new light fixture has one black, one white, one green, and a bare copper wire. From the ceiling, there are only one black and one white. What do I do with the fixture's green wire?

Answer 1

Look in the ceiling box and see if there is a bare copper wire attached to the box. The green wire should be attached to the ceiling box ground wire. If there is no grounding wire in the box then you have an electrical code problem.

Answer 2

hi to answer this senible question really this is what i would be doing if i was you? first i would find  a electrictian, second  i really won't be doing it my self not unless i know what i'm doing, i wouldn't be doing it my self.

Answer 3

The green wire is a ground wire it it to be connected with the bare copper wire which in romex cable (what is coming thru the celing ) which is grounded.

Answer 4

attach it to the box that holds it in the ceiling

Answer 5

First of all I would look in the box and try to determine what type of conduit system is in the walls. if you use romex or anytype of cable you show ground the fixture to the box itself.  somewhere on the box there is threaded hole for a green grounding s***w to be attached to the box. you can then buy a green "pigtail" and attach it to the green grounding s***w. This will give you the green wire to attach the green wire from the fixture. If you wires come from a pipe conduit system...the pipes serve as the grounding system and additional grounding is not necessary. If this is the case then just wire the black to the black and the white to the white and dont worry about the greens...but it they are in cable ...add the pigtail and attach both the bare and the green cable to it.