How to Wire HIDs

When it comes to lighting solutions, you might think wiring is beyond your compatibility. However, wiring is actually pretty simple and anyone can do it. Here are some steps on how to wire HIDs in particular. Before we get started on how to wire HIDs, let’s talk safety. It is important to make sure the power is disconnected before you start working on any type of fixture wiring. Electric shock can kill you, send you to the hospital, or at the very least, be incredibly painful. Make sure the power is disconnected before getting started

  • Once the power is off, you can get started on wiring your HIDs. You need to locate your wires to get started. They might be in an attached junction box or elsewhere on the fixture, depending on your model type.
  • Locate the ground wire, the common wire, and the power lead wires. These wires will all be different colors, depending on your model, but there will be printed writing on the power lead wire which will tell you the voltage. You will also have the word common marked on your common wire to help you tell the difference.
  • Make sure your service matches the power lead wire specifications. For example, if you have a power lead of 277 hooked up to a 120, the fixture will not be able to turn on so make sure your service matches the number printed on the power lead wire. Most fixtures will come with multiple power lead wires so you need to choose the one that is right for your fixture and service.
  • Once you have determined your wires and can tell the difference between them, you can start capping off any remaining wires you won’t be using for this process. Tuck them back into your junction box. This will make it easier to make sure you are using the right wires.
  • Once you have the right wires in place, you simply connect them to the corresponding wires from the ceiling.
  • Screw or mount the fixture into place.
  • Make sure you use the appropriate bulbs for the fixture. You never want to use bulbs that aren’t right for the manufacturer’s specified recommendation because you run the risk of either burning up the internal components of the fixture or getting less efficiency from the unit.
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Video Transcription

This is a video on how to wire a metal halide high bay fixture or low bay fixture with a multi tap or quad tap ballast. It’s going to have a 120 a 208 a 240 and a 277 lead which you are going to select from the junction box.

First, you want to make sure you disconnect the power from the fixture. There are several leads that come out of the fixture. This box is usually attached. I’ll show you where it’s usually attached first and usually some of the wires are tucked in and it slides on and then clips onto the ends and there’s a screw that screws into this end.

This is where your hook mount is going to be. You’re going to wire a cable or whatever in there. If you have a hook, such as this, there are all sorts of wires coming out of here. The green is the ground like usual. The white is the common and it's actually marked as common on the wire, I know you probably can’t see it from there, and then you have all your power leads. You have on this particular fixture, you want to make sure that the wires are correct and marked appropriately on the black and green wire, which may change from fixture to fixture. You’ll see on the wire itself, it’ll say, I’m pretty sure this is the 120, but you got to look real close. This one happens to be printed over. It says 120 in very fine print, but you want to make sure you see the 120 lead, that is if you have 120 power. These are the only three you’re going to hook up which is going to be your 120 hot, your ground, and your common wire.

So, if not, this one’s already capped off and this one happens to actually be set up for 277, as you can see there’s a wire coming out, but you want to make sure that you have 277 service when hooking it up. If you hook it up to a 120 and you have a 277, the fixture’s not going to come on. So, on the other leads here, you’re going to see the orange lead. On this one, it’s going to change on your fixture, too as a 208. If you have 208 service, you’re going to hook and we’re going to go through each and every one of these. You’re going to hook up your ground, your common, and then your 208. The same thing now, if you have a 277, you’re actually, let’s do the 240. So, on this one, it’s purple. It’s also printed on the wire 240. If you’re hooking this up to 240, you’re going to go with the same ground common which is your white and 240 which is your purple. So, now the last one that you’re going to have to wire is going to be a 277. Most industrial buildings are either 120 or 277. It’s very uncommon for it to be 208 or 240, but this fixture allows you to tap at that, so what you’re going to do with this one is its already stripped, so on the wire it says 277, so you’re going to have your ground, your common, and your 277-wire direct. The rest of these wires are going to be as these are capped off and tucked back in here.

So, now all you’ve got is the three out. You’re going to hook that up to your common wire, your ground, and your 277-lead coming from your power. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us here at Warehouse Lighting. Direct phone number is 414 525 9027. This is how to hook up the high bay or a low bay. Remember, the drawer is removable. You can tuck the leads back into the fixture inside and you’re good to go. You also want to make sure when lighting up your fixture that you’re using the correct bulbs. This one happens to be pink. It’s using a pink protected socket bulb. There’s also white that’s not protected and you can sometimes tell in these, you’ll see inside the socket, the little nipple will go directly into that crevice. So, on a protected bulb it just means that basically if it blows up, it’s not going to shatter glass down on you. If you have questions, please feel free to give us a call and we will talk to you later. Thanks for checking us out.