Light fitting problems - Help!

[Rumpleteazer]

Firstly, I am not an electrician and have no idea what I am doing! I have removed the existing light fitting and found that there are two cables coming out of the ceiling, each with live, neutral and earth wires (i.e. two of each). I searched all over the internet for how to do this, but these all refer to a different arrangement of wires.

 

[Amp David]

Are you replacing the light fitting? Is it a rose you've removed or an actual light fitting?

 

[JUD]

My first thought would be that this light is the last one in the circuit.

If this is the case then one cable will be your feed and the other will be your switch line.

The first thing you'll need to do is identify which is which.

Do you have a multi-meter?

 

[Amp David]

Or it could be one of a number of lights fed from 1 switch.

Can never understand these sort of things, no idea what i'm doing but sod it i'll just dive in, mess up then register onto a forum and hopefully someone willpull me out of the sh1te.

Gets better everyday.

 

[malcolmsanford]

The chances are that this is an end of the circuit on your lights and will have to assume that if your going to move forward.

You say you have 2 T+E cables which is 2 reds, 2 blacks and 2 bare covered with a sleeve either green or yellow/green. This then would make you think 2 reds are lines 1 black a neutral other black a switch line earth the sleeved ones

So isolating from the CU take your switch off the wall, or if it's a pull switch drop it down. You will hopfully see 1 red 1 black and 1 bare with sleeve. Disconnect the red and black cables and twist them together. With a multi meter, I so hope you know what that is, go back to the light and place one lead to each red and black's bare conductors. If nothing changes on the meter, then try the other cable doing the same.

This will then change the meter from most likely the symbol 1 to 0.00 depending on your meter. Once you identify which is the switch cable mark that black with a bit of tape, you should sleeve it really with red/brown but let's not go there.

Your connection then is 2 x red together 1 x black not marked to neutral and balck marked switch line. Earths in earth. Next time though MARK MARK MARK before you disconnect anything

 

[telectrix]

spot on malcolm, but is it not easier to get another person to operate the switch rather than disconnecting to verify switch wire.

 

[malcolmsanford]

true been too long working on my own

 

[fingz999]

just try not to blow the switch, as ive been out to the same house twice in the last couple of months due to someone doing the same thing changing there rose for a new light and gettign the wires messed up blowing the switch and then ive fixed ti then the next time they did the same thing

 

[Rumpleteazer]

Can never understand these sort of things, no idea what i'm doing but sod it i'll just dive in, mess up then register onto a forum and hopefully someone willpull me out of the sh1te.

Gets better everyday.

That's a bit harsh! I had thought this was a simple job - had I known I wouldn't have touched it.

Thanks for your suggestion Malcolm - I do know what a multimeter is, I just don't have one, so I guess I had better go and buy one. I was going to ask whether it would be easier to operate the light switch rather than taking it apart, but I see someone else got there first. Once I have got myself a multimeter I will give it a go and let you know how I get on.

 

[cconstructuk]

what colour are the cables and do any have a red sleeve?

 

[Rumpleteazer]

I have 2 brown, 2 blue and 2 earth wires. The 2 earth are joined together in a single sleeve. None of the wires have a red sleeve or marked in any other way.

 

[tuckermot]

Daisy chained ??