My hallway light fixture fought back and I won after 4 trips to the store

So last Tuesday I decided to swap out this ugly 80s brass fixture in my hallway. Turns out the previous owner painted over the mounting screws, stripped one of them, and the box was recessed too deep for the new bracket. I spent two hours with a hacksaw blade and a pair of pliers getting that thing loose. Then the new fixture's wire nuts didn't fit the thicker gauge wires, so back to Home Depot for the right size. Finally got it up and working around 9pm, but the dimmer switch now buzzes like a trapped bee. Has anyone else dealt with mystery wiring behind old fixtures or should I just call an electrician for the dimmer part?

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the_max9d ago

Man, that sounds like a nightmare. Old fixtures are the worst because you never know what mess the last guy left behind. Painted over screws should be a crime. The dimmer buzzing is probably because the new fixture has LED bulbs that don't play nice with an old dimmer switch, or the dimmer itself is just worn out. If the wiring back there looked sketchy at all, I would just pay someone to sort out the dimmer. Not worth burning your house down over a hallway light.

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