Bedroom lights not working

[Daryl93]

I am replacing some bedroom lights for my girlfriends parents, their old ones stopped working, they where built in LED bulbs with a live and neutral coming from the fixtures, so I am replacing them with newer lighting fixtures, it is straight forward, put the cables into the relitive parts but when i switch it on nothing happens, I have replaced the light switch, trimmed back the conductors (in case of damage) and tried a new fixture I had just bought (didnt work) but still, when I wire them up they just dont seem to work.

they have told me that the guy who lived there before was a bit of a bodger but I just dont understand how the lights worked just days before but now they just dont?

Any help would be appricated,
thank you

 

[littlespark]

Start with the obvious... check your consumer unit that an RCD hasn’t tripped.
They are designed to trip if you touch a neutral.

 

[Timbo]

The old ones stopped working. Was this all at once, or one at a time?

 

[Daryl93]

Start with the obvious... check your consumer unit that an RCD hasn’t tripped.
They are designed to trip if you touch a neutral.

Thank you for your reply. I did check the RCD, It blew like you said, when I touched the neutral. I switched it back but still, they just don't work, all MCB's and RCD's are on at the point of switching.

 

[Daryl93]

The old ones stopped working. Was this all at once, or one at a time?

thanks for the reply.
One at a time, the one furthest from the switch went first, then the one closest.

 

[ChrisElectrical88]

Is there a junction box somewhere above the ceiling? Pictures of the switch and first light would halp

 

[Daryl93]

Is there a junction box somewhere above the ceiling? Pictures of the switch and first light would halp

thanks for the reply, I dont have pics at the moment but the lights are located on the wall, the lights i took off before were just wired in as normal. ill see if i can get pictures someday soon.

 

[Dartlec]

If they all stopped working at once there may be something else going on, so it's likely a case of getting back to basics.

If each light only had one live and one neutral, and you've replaced them, the chances of you incorrectly doing every one are slim, so it's likely somewhere else that the problem is.

Pictures of the back of the switch might help, it might be a loose neutral behind the switch, or at a junction box somewhere - Is there a central ceiling light, or was there at one time? If so then there may be a loose wiere there, or in a junction box that replaced it.

It's hard to troubleshoot further without some sort of voltage indicator (and an idea how to use it safely), to see whether power is actually getting to the bedroom in the first place.

 

[nicebutdim]

If they all stopped working at once there may be something else going on, so it's likely a case of getting back to basics.

In post #5 the OP clarified that they failed one at a time.

Might be helpful to see images of wiring at each new light and switch,

 

[Dartlec]

Did each light have two sets of wires? If not, then there is definitely a junction box somewhere

 

[SJD]

How many lights actually are there? Two? Or more?

 

[nicebutdim]

How many lights actually are there? Two? Or more?

Post #5 suggests that it's two lights, controlled from the same switch, that failed at different times.

Subsequent post states that these are both wall lights...

 

[Daryl93]

This issue has been fixed - the problem was that the guy who wired the lights spured off of a socket below the lights, in the trunking next to the socket was a fuse that had blown, I was unaware that this was even a thing so I didn't think to look at it, you live and learn.

thanks for your help guys.

 

[DPG]

This issue has been fixed - the problem was that the guy who wired the lights spured off of a socket below the lights, in the trunking next to the socket was a fuse that had blown, I was unaware that this was even a thing so I didn't think to look at it, you live and learn.

thanks for your help guys.

A fuse in the trunking? Any pictures? Sounds like maybe someone has used an inline fuse to fuse the lights down maybe.

 

[littlespark]

Just reread the initial first post. Mentions previous homeowner was a bit of a bodger.

Glad it’s working now, but it needs looked at and done properly. God knows what the rest of the house is like.

 

[Daryl93]

A fuse in the trunking? Any pictures? Sounds like maybe someone has used an inline fuse to fuse the lights down maybe.

 

[DPG]

Ah I see, thanks. Wasn't expecting that!

 

[Daryl93]

Ah I see, thanks. Wasn't expecting that!

Me either mate ?

 

[telectrix]

was thinking maybe a FCU fitted. that is the correct way to spur lights from a socket circuit. fuse in FCU should be no more than 5A. but I'd sack the painter.

 

[telectrix]

just noti ced. is that FCU Australian? reads "fuse" from bottom to top.