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LewisM

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Hi changing a light today and some other bits and upon taking the old fitting down all the basic insulation on the wires in the fitting were rock hard and brittle. No loose connections or transformer in the base so I can't see why it has happened. Base of the fitting was just a void with connectors in.

Anybody seen this before.

Brittle Cables PXL_20210913_142724945 - EletriciansForums.net
 
It might have been overheated by a previous fixture, or perhaps it's substandard cable that has aged prematurely. I don't suppose there's enough length to read any ID printed down the side to check whether it's from a reputable manufacturer? Can you check the other end e.g. of a switch drop that won't ever have been heated?
 
Heat from halogen lamps especially on a metal light fitting can bake the cables and as soon as you tug on them when removing the light they just grumble
 
Heat from halogen lamps especially on a metal light fitting can bake the cables and as soon as you tug on them when removing the light they just grumble
I can hear it now, the noise from all those Grumbling cables
????
 
Those cables are 'old colours' so at least 16 years old, possibly a couple of decades more. As above, lights left on do that, basically ageing the cable far faster than the rest.

Is it a hallway light? Often they would be left on all night by some folks.
 
hoefully there's some slack in the cables allowing them to be cut back and re terminated.
 
wagobox and connetors above ceiling then.
 

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