Replaced bathroom ceiling light, now kitchen & living room lights not working

[Jerry88]

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone can help me out. I had a light in the bathroom that stopped working. I thought it was just a regular bulb fitting so I replaced the whole ceiling light and connected the same cables the same way as before to make it easier whenver I need to change the bulb.

However once I switched it back on, the bathroom light and extractor fan work — but the kitchen and living room lights no longer turn on.

I’ve noticed one black cable that I’m not sure where it originally connected to. I now suspect the bathroom light was acting as a junction point for other circuits in the house.

Could this be an issue with how I reconnected the neutral or earth wires? I may have missed a connection that was linking the bathroom to the kitchen/living room lighting.

I’ve attached photos of the old setup (before I disconnected) and the new one (after installing the new light).
Would really appreciate any advice — thank you in advance!

Cheers,
Jerry

 

[littlespark]

I suspect the loose black should be in with the neutral, but am confused that I don’t see it connected in the “before” photo.

As both the old and new fittings only had 2 push in slots per terminal, was there a connector on the black or blue to allow this spare black to be connected?


It’s a “loop in” or “3 plate” wiring system, and is common in older houses.

 

[westward10]

With the three "loop" reds I agree that floating black should be connected to neutral but as @littlespark says where is it in the first picture?

 

[Jerry88]

Thanks both for replying!

I must have missed it but now thinking back it’s possible the two black wires were originally connected together in the terminal. I didn't spot it clearly when I took off the old ceiling but that would explain why one was left loose when I wired the new fitting.

So I assumed I could just match them one-to-one in the wire?

Thanks again for all the guidance!

 

[littlespark]

At least this problem was an easy fix!

Congrats for taking a photo before and after… many don’t.
And it’s good to see the “switched live” black sleeved to identify it.


Those push in connectors are only really design for one cable - one hole… so when there’s more than 2 of each, have a connector first.

Especially the earth wires.

Give the cores a “tug test” just to make sure the connectors have gripped ok.