Help identifying wires

[Flavio]

Hello,
disclaimer: this is DIY and I am rather ignorant about electrical works.
I just moved into a new rental apartment and i wanted to connect lamps on the ceiling. Most come out with just 2 wires and so it's easy even for me to connect a lightbulb connector.
But in the living room there are more than 2 wires:

1st purple wire
2nd purple wire
Ground wire (green-yellow) just passing by, no visible ends
3 yellow wires joined into a block, One yellow end comes out of the block.

I measured voltage:
1st purple wire to yellow: 234 acV (i connected the light to these two and it works)
2nd purple wire to yellow: 1.2 acV
1st purple wire to 2nd purple wire: 8 acV

I cant't make sense of what I measured, and what the second purple wire is there for.
Thanks for helping, I suppose this is a very trivial question but I hope someone will still help

 

[Flavio]

Forgot to attach picture

 

[Rockingit]

The purple wires are what you guys call travellers (U.K. strapper), that carries the hot from switch to switch - that’s why you have one with a minimal voltage reading as whilst disconnected it’s out of context.

 

[Flavio]

The purple wires are what you guys call travellers (U.K. strapper), that carries the hot from switch to switch - that’s why you have one with a minimal voltage reading as whilst disconnected it’s out of context.

Thank you for your answer, but I still don't understand. Do you mean that the two purple wires are activated by two different switches?

 

[Rockingit]

The purple carries the hot from one switch to the next switch

 

[Flavio]

The purple carries the hot from one switch to the next switch

So i should connect both purple wires to the light socket?
I guess i haven't looked around enough in the new apartment.. because i don't see any other switch
thanks again

 

[littlespark]

How was the old light connected?

Find a 4 port connector for the yellow wires. They’re not designed for 2 wires into the same port.

Is there any other wires running through the box above, or just the green/yellow? (If you’re using a metal fitting, you may need to use the green/yellow as an earth for it.

 

[Flavio]

How was the old light connected?

Find a 4 port connector for the yellow wires. They’re not designed for 2 wires into the same port.

Is there any other wires running through the box above, or just the green/yellow? (If you’re using a metal fitting, you may need to use the green/yellow as an earth for it.

Thanks for the answer, I will do that about the port connector.
Unfortunately I don't know how the old light was connected, this is the situation as I found it.
There are no other wires running through the box above, just the green/yellow (with no open end available)

I looked up the traveller wire thing and I understand that it implies having hot wires going from switch to switch, but does it imply having two hot wires to the light? Besides the fact that I cannot find another switch.
The picture does not represent the switch but where the light would go.
thanks again

 

[littlespark]

can you confirm your location is Italy?

I've looked online and i cant see any country that uses purple and yellow as regular house wiring.

 

[Flavio]

can you confirm your location is Italy?

I've looked online and i cant see any country that uses purple and yellow as regular house wiring.

Apologies, I do live in Italy, but i should have mentioned that the apartment in question is my girlfriend's new place nearby Zurich, Switzerland

 

[Rockingit]

can you confirm your location is Italy?

I've looked online and i cant see any country that uses purple and yellow as regular house wiring.

I think purple was a pre-harmonisation colour, used predominantly as a denominator for loop/strapper specifically in lighting circuits. People tend to forget that it wasn't just the UK had to change. That said, Switzerland not being part of the EU could mean that any previous standards are also still in place - it would be for largely economic reasons of cable buying/manufacturing to move over to more widespread colours.

 

[Flavio]

I think purple was a pre-harmonisation colour, used predominantly as a denominator for loop/strapper specifically in lighting circuits. People tend to forget that it wasn't just the UK had to change. That said, Switzerland not being part of the EU could mean that any previous standards are also still in place - it would be for largely economic reasons of cable buying/manufacturing to move over to more widespread colours.

But if it's a looper shouldn't I have 2 hot wires just at the switches? Why two hot wires at the light?
Sorry if it's a silly question