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How to Install GU10 Lightbulb Bases

Outdoor home floodlights are useful for deterring would-be burglars and for providing extra light at dusk for homeowners who may be finishing yard work or working into the night on a car or truck. The GU10 is an electrical socket used for mounting 50-watt, halogen floodlights. If the spotlight bulb quits working and a newly installed bulb will not work, it is possible the old GU10 mounting base has shorted out and needs to be replaced. Installing a new GU10 floodlight base takes about 30 minutes.

Things You'll Need

  • Ladder
  • Philips screwdriver
  • GU10 base
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Instructions

    • 1

      Shut off the power to the floodlight circuit from the breaker box.

    • 2

      Set the ladder under the floodlight. Remove the floodlight from the old base by pushing it in, twisting it counterclockwise and pulling it out.

    • 3

      Pull the old base slightly forward to access the electrical wiring connected to it. Loosen the terminal screws on the back of the old base and remove the electrical wires from it.

    • 4

      Wrap the positive electrical wire (red or white in color) to the positive terminal screw on the back of the new GU10 base. Tighten the terminal screw, using the screwdriver. Connect the black ground wire to the ground terminal screw on the back of the floodlight base and tighten the screw.

    • 5

      Push the floodlight into the new base and twist it clockwise to install it. Gently position the floodlight and base back into the floodlight housing.