Splicing a Lamp Cord

Remove about two inches of the outer insulation from the frayed cord wires. Separate the two wires and cut them at the damaged point. Cut away any broken or damages copper strands making sure all wires are the same length.

Make a note of the hot and neutral wires. The black wire is the hot and the white wire is the neutral. In most cases the wires will not be color coded black and white but will be the same color. In these cases one wire will have a colored stripe or a textured bead imprinted on it. This is the hot wire. The plain wire will be the neutral.

Strip about an inch of insulation from the ends of all four wires. Twist the two ends of the hot wire together.

For the most durable repair use a solder gun and electical solder to seal the connection. Heat the wires with the gun and touch the solder to the them when they are hot enough to melt it. Don't touch the solder to the gun tip, just the wires. When they are hot enough the solder will run down the strands and coat them. When this happens remove the solder and hot gun tip from the wires. Splice the neutral wire in the same way.

Let the wires cool and wrap each splice with electrician's tape. Place the two taped splices together and wrap them with tape to finish the repair. Test the lamp in an electrical receptacle.