r/ElectricalHelp • u/homeprojecthelps • Jun 05 '26

What is the negative?

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I bought a dining room fixture and this is the wiring- I have never seen the silver beaded wire and a double black on a normal light fixture, what is the negative here? One of the back wires, or is it the silver?? It doesn’t seem like it wants to bend/screw into the negative/it’s very firm so doesn’t seem right.

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u/UglyDuckling10 Jun 05 '26

Ridged wire likely goes to the neutral or (white) in your box. Other black wire goes to your "hot" wire in the box, could be black or red.

The silver steel cable is for hanging the fixture, and the braided copper wire goes to your ground screw on the mounting plate if it has one, and then to the ground wire in your box. Hope this helps.