Looks like my current message is awaiting mod approval (probably on account of my including the link to B&Q):
So for the sake of this conversation.
Two of my rooms had a three-spot spotlight fitted - not a great look for a bedroom so having put up with them for 10 years, we decided at the first opportunity to remove them, but suffice to say, we have known for many years that the ceiling roses and the attic juntion boxes have worked fine.
Knowing that there is nothing wrong with the circuitry
before I began the work, it was more than a little jarring when switching from spotlights to pendants, the lights just would not work.
I didn't feel it necessary to test with a multimeter as the pendants would not work, but the re-instated spotlights did. Tell me, if you had a light in your hand (that you no longer wanted) that was working, and just a basic ceiling pendant, that wasn't, which would you suspect?
The clearly working ceiling rose, junction boxes and light switches were almost certainly not the problem, especially as with the pendant fitted and the switch off, my circuit tester is reading no charge, but with the light switch on, and bulb in, the circuit test is registering even though the bulb was not illuminating.
Although I didn't explain all of the tests that I had tried to this point, I
did explain on line 2 of my opening post: "
We can handle the wiring shortly, but after a day or two of testing - wiring the spot back on, test (it works), replacing with the ceiling rose (it doesn't work)"
Which I thought to be enough to explain to you all that I doubted the lighting circuit as this was working when I refitted the spotlights.
As for your comments
@mainline, about working with mains electricity, by the time I had opened this thread, I had determined the problem to be releated to the pendant, specifically the lampholder; so shifting my troubleshooting there, I wired the spotlights to a plug and tested on a wall outlet - success, the lights lit.
Replacing the spotlights with the pendant, and again, just the same as at the ceiling, the bulb would not light even though my circuit tester was indicating voltage - so it is a problem with the lampholder but what?
Firstly, I had moved the terminals closer to the bulb, this is a screw fitment so live is at the bottom and neutral to the side, but this made no difference. So I moved the neutral further
away from the bulb, re-testing, the bulb lit!
These seem different from normal E27's as they have two terminals, one for live, one for neutral, instead of the usual arrangement of live terminal, and neutral base:
So there's answer, the neutral terminal was - was what exactly? Too close? How close to a screw-fitment is too close? It still has to contact the bulb in order to complete the circuit, and for me, it was only once I moved the neutral terminal further
away from the bulb did the bulb light.
Unless, as the two terminals inside the lampholder are fitted very closely, they were somehow shorting, I'll levae you all to work this one out. Suffice to say, they are working now and both fitted back to the ceiling.
One other point though, looking for the above image just so you could see the terminal layout, the only one I could find was that customer image on B&Q's website [BG White E27 Light pendant set], in the reviews section; furthermore, many other customers are complaining that the pendants don't work, presumably like me and this other customer, it was because of a terminal problem.
Please though, do not assume non-electrical knowledge just because I didn't explain everything I had done, instead missing the parts that didn't seem relevant. I too am a forum lead and forum ambassador for a different forum, we are continuosly requesting users to get the balance right - too little information, and were stuck with a mass of questions of "have you done this, have you done that"; but too much, and whilst it is very useful, it if often too much of an overload to try to identify the cause.
SMartin
