lighting circuit issues

[j_wheatley]

Hi guys. I fitted a new light in a mates house. I connected it to existing downlight circuit which are less. Didn't see a transformer so wired up and fine. Then get a call to say lights are flashing. Only done this once in two weeks and no problems since. Thought maybe all existing lights were on one transformer but the new light has 9 40w gls bulbs and they all glow at full brightness. Lights are on a dimmer and was told when they flashed it wad when they were dimmed. Also the light i picked a feed up from was nearest the switch but no sign of a transformer. Do went to check the voltage with a multimeter (all i had with me at the time) as i went across the line and earth all the lights on circuit went out. Got a reading of 210v. Any thoughts on what the problem(s) could be as do want to leave it with a potential fault.

many thanks in advance.

 

[Pete999]

Can you not get your mentor to advise you?

 

[cprfenom]

Hi.

Your post doesn't make total sense. What bulbs were in the old light fittings? That would imply if you have a transformer.

In regards to the dimmer, most people only install a 200-250W dimmer. You should try a standard switch to see if the bulbs work at full wattage. If they do then you can consider a 400W dimmer.

 

[Marvo]

Hi guys. I fitted a new light in a mates house. I connected it to existing downlight circuit which are less. Didn't see a transformer so wired up and fine. Then get a call to say lights are flashing. Only done this once in two weeks and no problems since. Thought maybe all existing lights were on one transformer but the new light has 9 40w gls bulbs and they all glow at full brightness. Lights are on a dimmer and was told when they flashed it wad when they were dimmed.

So you installed a 360 watt fitting, is it on its own switch or is it supplied from the existing dimmer? Did you remove any lights or just add the new fitting? What are/were the existing fittings, what type of lamps did they have in them? I'm more confused that usual with this thread....

Do went to check the voltage with a multimeter (all i had with me at the time) as i went across the line and earth all the lights on circuit went out. Got a reading of 210v. Any thoughts on what the problem(s) could be as do want to leave it with a potential fault.

many thanks in advance.

Were you testing on the supply side or the load side of the dimmer when you got 210v l-e? As a standalone test a l-e voltage doesn't mean much, a l-n voltage would have been better but if you were testing on the load side of the dimmer it's a meaningless figure entirely unless you know your tester can give an accurate assessment of a PWM (pulse width modulated) waveform.

 

[DPG]

Hi guys. I fitted a new light in a mates house. I connected it to existing downlight circuit which are less. Didn't see a transformer so wired up and fine. Then get a call to say lights are flashing. Only done this once in two weeks and no problems since. Thought maybe all existing lights were on one transformer but the new light has 9 40w gls bulbs and they all glow at full brightness. Lights are on a dimmer and was told when they flashed it wad when they were dimmed. Also the light i picked a feed up from was nearest the switch but no sign of a transformer. Do went to check the voltage with a multimeter (all i had with me at the time) as i went across the line and earth all the lights on circuit went out. Got a reading of 210v. Any thoughts on what the problem(s) could be as do want to leave it with a potential fault.

many thanks in advance.

This seems strange if it was indeed a normal digital multimeter. These are such a high impedance input that it shouldn't cause any issue when connecting as you have said you did. I suspect you have disturbed a loose connection when holding the probes on. Daz

 

[j_wheatley]

Thanks for the the replies. Just seen an auto correct that that says existing lights are less, should have said LEDs. There are three existing LED downlights wth dimmer on full. Checked voltage at the downlight i came off to feed the new light. May look at changing to a 400w dimmer. Don't think there was a.loose connection as i had made that connection and checked it for tightness. It is on the existing dimmer switch and i didn't remove any fittings. Thanks

 

[ackbarthestar]

Check that you get the right type of Dimmer to control the LEDs -