Power at light canopy sparked

Hello,

Please have a look at the attached pictures.

They show a light fixture with a power cable coming from the ceiling and running to it. One day, I flipped the switch and a spark blew from the socket as shown in the picture. The light won't turn on anymore.

I opened the socket and took another picture. That is the second picture I uploaded.

I am not an electrician and don't know the first thing about fixing a light socket. I could sure use some advise on how to fix this.

Feel free to take the pictures and annotate them in order to give clear instructions on what I should do.

 

Welcome to the forums.

Quite an interesting connection there.
I don't see any blackened areas that were shorted.

You need to make sure the power is off and physically check for a bare wire at the light canopy.
More than likely it's where it comes out of the canopy and makes a hard turn. This is the wrong type of fixture and wiring for your application.

 

Thanks for the reply, Pete.

You mean here?



That would make sense since that's where I saw the spark.

So to fix it, I'd probably have to cut the wire just before it enters the canopy, strip the outer layer so that the black and white lines are visible, get a couple more wires maybe about half a foot each, and tie them onto the main line and onto the wires sticking out of the socket. Does this sound correct?

 

No. To fix it you need to use a Wiremold box at the fan and extension ring and blank cover at the ceiling box. Then connect with Wiremold surface raceway. You will use THHN/THWN single conductor wires in the raceway. The Wiremold box for the fan must be fan rated.

http://www.legrand.us/wiremold/racew...e-fan-box.aspx

http://www.legrand.us/wiremold/racew...extension.aspx

http://www.legrand.us/wiremold/racew...d-raceway.aspx

 

There is no graceful way to fix that so that it looks nice and is electrically correct.

on edit:
Yes... wiremold would be a better alternative.
Not a quick and easy repair but would definitely be the proper choice.

 

Door #3. Which direction are your ceiling joists running? If parallel to a line between the supply box and the existing fan, you may can fish cable through the ceiling from A to B, connect in the original ceiling box and apply a cover, then install a fan rated box ( I dare say the one there now may not be), and install the fan. Eliminates the unsightly and unsafe cable, and the Wiremold. But if the joists run perpendicular go with the Wiremold.

 

Are you trying to install a ceiling fan? That just looks like a canopy for a pendant type fixture with a poorly installed cord through the canopy .