There was a cap in the middle of the ceiling in my living room that I had always assumed was hiding an old light fixture or something. There is a also a light switch that doesn't do anything in the room. The room has no other lights except a stand light my kids love to knock over so I looked under the cap to see if I could install a new light.
Here is what I found: 
And a few more pics
Why are there three sets of wires? I can guess one is from the light switch and one is from the breaker. What is the other one? And how would I go about wiring a new light fixture to this? Or do i back away slowly and pretend I never removed the cap.
Best Answer
Personally, I would put the cap back on and back away slowly. IMO your only option is to call an electrician to come and replace that old iron box and strip back on the cable to expose fresh insulation (not always a sure thing though). Those old "boxes" give you no place to attach a modern fixture safely, and have absolutely no room for the wiring. They took into account that old fixtures had huge canopies that would contain the wiring.