Rewiring a Lamp
If you notice your lamp beginning to flicker or the light bulb dimming at odd times, it may be time to rewire your lamp. If you like the style of your lamp—or if you find an antique lamp you like but are concerned about its safety—rewiring is the way to go. It’s not a terribly difficult job.
At most home centers, you can buy kits for rewiring. These consist of a socket for the bulb, a bottom that clicks onto the socket after you have installed the wiring, the wire and plug, and perhaps the harp that holds the lamp shade. In addition to the kit, you will need a Phillips-head screw driver. You may also need tools to get your lamp apart and back together again. It can be handy to have oil or other lubricant on hand when threading the wire back into the lamp.
The first thing to do is to unplug the lamp and then remove the old wiring, which usually entails disassembling the lamp at least to a certain extent. The critical aspect of this is to place the pieces in the order in which they need to be put back together. Don’t depend on your mind for remembering the order; you will end up with a shaky lamp and some extra pieces that don’t seem to fit anywhere. If you are really not sure, use a digital camera and take pictures as you disassemble the lamp.
Pull out the old wire. You are ready to start threading the new wire into the lamp assembly. This job is a lot like stringing beads and you have to get all the parts onto the wire before you attach the wire to the socket. Often there is a long metal tube with threads on both ends through which the wire runs. The challenge is to get the wire through this tube. You can try lubricating the inside of the tube with oil; in a pinch cooking oil will do the job. Or you can thread a piece of string through first and then use the string to pull the wire through.
Be sure you put the harp pieces and thread the bottom part of the socket assembly onto the wire before you attach the wires to the actual socket. When every possible part is threaded on, use the screw driver to loosen the screws in the socket. The wire in the kits is usually pre-stripped for about a half inch and separated into two parts. If for some reason you need to strip the wire yourself, use a wire stripper and cut about half an inch of insulation off the wires. Separate the two wires for another inch or so along the existing insulation.
Wrap one piece of exposed wire around one screw and the other around the other screw. Tighten both screws. It is helpful to wrap the wires so that they are going clockwise. That way tightening the screw will not push the wire away.
Slide the bottom part of the socket over the wires you just installed and pop that on. Sometimes it’s tricky to get it on evenly, so you will have to take it off, line it up straight, and then apply even pressure.
Tighten up all the lamp parts you had taken apart and pull the cord so that there is no slack in the wire inside the lamp. Put in a light bulb and test it out!