How to Wire a Lamp Socket to Improve Lighting In Your Home

Introduction

When I was little, my mom had an old lamp that sat on an end table. It had a fancy shade and a beautiful tasseled pull cord, and when I moved into my new house I knew it would look great there. When I asked what happened to it, she said she gave it away once it broke. Argh!

If you have an old lamp that no longer works no matter how many bulbs you try, don't throw it out. Try this easy, inexpensive fix first. For less than $10, you can replace the socket and hopefully make your lamp last much longer than my mom's did. (If you're feeling particularly handy, you can even build your own lamp.)

Before we start, let's talk about the wiring, and how lamp sockets work.

If you peek inside the socket, you'll see a little tab at the bottom. That's the "hot" part, where the power comes in from the electrical circuit feeding your lamp. The silver threaded socket (the part the bulb screws into) is the grounded, or "neutral," part of the circuit. The cord running from your wall receptacle to the lamp has a hot and a neutral wire, too, and it's important to match it to the lamp correctly. (Don't worry, I'll show you how.)

Why? Safety. If you attach the hot wire from the cord to the threaded silver socket, it will always stay hot, even if the lamp is off. The entire lamp could get electrified, especially older models with cardboard insulating sleeves, increasing the chance of electric shock. That's why the little hot tab is buried at the bottom of the socket. When the bulb is in place, there's no way for anyone to touch it.

Before starting this project, unplug the lamp from the wall and disassemble the socket from the lamp. (Take a photo or two to help you remember how it goes back together!) Lamp sockets are available at any lighting or home improvement store and online, and come in a variety of styles and switch types (pull chain, twist knob, push-through and more).

Let's get started.