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how to rewire old 3 way floor lamp..

User
15 years ago

I have Googled and can't find any good descriptions of how to rewire a 3 way floor lamp. There is a 3 way mogul at the top and 3 candelabra lights out to the sides as well as a base light. If you can direct me to a DIY site or a book I would appreciate it. THANK YOU , Caroline

Comments (8)

  • User
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    will move this down, I figured it out. c

  • brickeyee
    15 years ago

    Finding the switch is usually the most difficult part.
    They have 3 terminals.
    Common, output one, and output two.
    The hot line goes to the switch common.
    Output one goes to one of the light sockets(s).
    Output two goes to the other light socket(s).

    The neutral (wide blade on the plug, ribbed wire on the zip cord) goes to the outer shell (white screw of all the sockets.

  • HU-496480956
    5 years ago

    I have an old floor lamp just like this one and can figure out the wiring if I could figure out how to separate the parts of the lamp. They seem to be fit together very well and I want to avoid any damage. The one section stumping me seems to have a night light of some sort but no obvious way to change a lamp when necessary. Any ideas?

  • DavidR
    5 years ago

    I've run into a few floor lamps like the one you describe. Even owned a couple. :)

    Typically you replace the night light in the base from the bottom of the base. You may have to unscrew a plate, or peel off a felt or fiberboard sheet glued to the base.

  • HU-496480956
    5 years ago

    Thanks for your response. This lamp has what appears to be a night light base with a switch just below the candelabra base on top of the post. It appears to be 2 pieces that fit very well together. I've tried a thin knife blade to pry them apart but that has not worked and I really don't want to force anything that might cause any damage. The wiring runs through this, attaches to this switch then upward to the candelabra and the center torch.

  • DavidR
    5 years ago

    You mean you're trying to get into the area where the switches are?

    I took one of those lamps apart probably close to 40 years ago, to replace a failed switch. My memory of the process is a little dim, but IIRC the whole lamp was held together by a long threaded steel conduit, maybe 1/2" in diameter, that ran from the base to (again, IIRC) the top 3-way light socket. I think the base was actually threaded for the conduit.

    I'm pretty sure that all I had to do was hold the base and unscrew the top. The top of that section with the switches was just held on by the screw tension, so once I'd fed some power cord up from the bottom, access was easy.

    The power cord got twisted when I unscrewed things. Didn't seem to hurt it.

    Again, I'm going from fading memory here, and your lamp may not be assembled the same way, but I can't see what it would hurt to try.

  • HU-496480956
    5 years ago

    This one is similar. The vertical conduit stops at a decorative round box that apparently housed a night light controlled by a switch on the top of the box. Then the candelabra armature continued up and the torch base finished the top. I managed to get everything apart except that box for the night light. I couldn't figure out how to separate the top from the bottom so I could access the push button switch and night light. What puzzled me was that it seemed impossible to get apart but there had to be a way to change a night light bulb. So as not to cause any damage, I took it to a lamp shop and should get it back i a week. What's interesting is as I was explaining my problem to the shop owner, I twisted that box and it opened. It turned out to be threaded and I must have loosened it up with my earlier efforts. So, thanks for trying and now we all know how to change a night light bulb. The only question I have left is the age of this lamp. I've seen a photo from 1953, so we know it's at least 70. My guess is probably manufactured in the '20's.