Converting 4-pin CFL recessed can to be able to use LED E27 (bypassing ballast)

D

dealcatcher

New member
Hi all,

In order to get the proper voltage to use an LED or incandescent E27 bulb, I was thinking of bypassing the ballast connected to the CFL myself. I'm pretty sure I've got it down, but I want to confirm a couple things with those of you who have experience here.

The first pic is just a picture of the jbox behind the recessed light fixture.
The second pic is just the 4 wires going from the ballast to the 4-pin GX24 CFL light socket.

1) In the first pic, do you know why I have two power wires going to the ballast? (In the pic, I've labeled the two power wires as wire #1 and #2. In each power wire, I have a live wire (black), neutral (white), and the copper (ground). I was just curious why I have two of each.

2) In the first pic, wires #3 (2 blue wires) and #4 (2 red wires), connect from the ballast to the 4-pin socket. Do you know why there are two blues and two reds? Seems strange that there are two of each. Is this because it's a 4-pin socket?

3) And last question, to bypass the ballast, I was going to cut the two live wires (black wires) from #1 and #2 and connect them to the two red wires #4 that go to the 4-pin socket. Then, I was going to cut the two neutral wires (white wires) from #1 and #2 and connect them to the two blue wires #3 that go to the 4-pin socket. Is this the way to bypass the ballast?

Thanks in advance for your help! I hate the look and warm-up period that comes along with CFLs and want to switch them out to the dimmable 3000k LED spotlights. 
 

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To answer your question 1, more than likely, your can light(s) are probably connected to more than one light switch, 2 or 3 switches even. 

That extra romex feed is necessary for the multiple switches to function properly. 
 
I spent the day yesterday bypassing the ballasts. I did all 6 in the kitchen and one in each of the tub/shower areas of all 3 bathrooms. For those of you looking to do the same, my instructions in step 3 worked! It was really easy! Each can took 15-20 mins.

1) Turn off power at switch breaker. Remove light can trim, if any, by pulling it down
2) unscrew 4 screws on inner part of can light
3) either pull down or push up can to gain access to jbox
4) open junction box by removing metal plate
5) locate and cute wires mentioned above
6) connect two black power wires to two red wires going to light socket (use electrical tape on connectors to secure)
7) connect two white neutral wires to two blue wires going to socket (use electrical tape on connectors to secure)
8 push all wires back into jbox and replace metal plate
9) screw in can light
10) push gx24 or g24 to e27 adapter into socket (you can twist the existing socket into those two screws at the top of your can so the socket remains fixed to can)
11) install bulb and push in the trim

Hope this helps! The lights looks so much better now.

All you need for the job:
-wire stripper ($8 at HD)
-box of twist on wire connectors ($4 at HD)
-gx24(15mm) or g24(22mm) to e27 adapter (bought from led.com for $3.71 or ebay for $5.45 per piece)
-BR38 led bulb ($13.99)


 
just spent the day converting 13 of these.  annoying they still put this in new construction.  thanks for the post, definitely helped.
 
Euromoda on lake forest dr sells an led bulbs that can fit into the prongs. No need to do all this work and spend all this money. 😀
 
irvine99 said:
Euromoda on lake forest dr sells an led bulbs that can fit into the prongs. No need to do all this work and spend all this money. 😀
Click to expand...

They probably charge an arm and a leg for the bulb though right? Also, what kelvin color options are available?
 
dealcatcher said:
irvine99 said:
Euromoda on lake forest dr sells an led bulbs that can fit into the prongs. No need to do all this work and spend all this money. 😀
Click to expand...

I think it was 11 or 12 bucks a bulbs.
They probably charge an arm and a leg for the bulb though right? Also, what kelvin color options are available?
Click to expand...
 
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