I acquired a hanging light fixture for an old house of mine where there was no over-head lighting (50+yrs old house) but only a hook to hang something. The switch I always found to be a bit picky but since the power to the light was controlled by a wall-switch, I didn't worry about it too much. I used to 'play with it' every once in awhile but really it only served to complete the 'breakdown process' that eventually killed the switch. So off I went to tackle this repair.

Step 1: The Patient

Here is the patience, minus the big glass bowl that sits on that ring. I don't know much about it but it looked decent in our place and I got a chance to fix something else :)

Step 2: Tools/Parts Needed

Since I was basically gutting the lamp and swapping out for new parts, I had to buy a few things.

Parts:

1/ An extension cord (or just some length of bulk cable)
2/ replacement lights (this fixture had two, one up and one below)
3/ replacement switch (4 position)
4/ Washer for makeshift wire management.

Tools:

1/ Wire stripper/cutter
2/ Multi-meter
3/ Screw driver
4/ Pliers (aren't these like air? You always need them and it's a given they are included? :)

Step 3: Secondary Issues May (read: Will!) Arise.

It seems that on top of the list of parts and tools, you should always be prepared to fix the tools you are working with, should they be of 'lesser quality'. This light I was using for seeing in places that was being blocked by housing and such. Well the socket where the bulb was in, seemed to be a bit wobbly, so I had to take it apart, fix this (simple enough, some electrical tape to fill in the gap) so that it didn't flicker and drive me nuts.

Step 4: Looking at the Old Connections

Seeing as the wires were all the same colour, I decided to take a picture so I knew which wire went where on reassembly. Came in pretty handy.

Step 5: Old Socket Removed

Well, got the old piece out and in many pieces. The whole thing was a mess. I am glad nothing caused a fire!

Step 6: Modification Solution

Once I got the wires hooked up to the right connections, I found that this side simply would not hold the wires. I used a washer, cut out a section, and used it to add some space filling and then everything stayed nicely into place.