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OK so I screwed up!
Went to replace my daughters ceiling fitment (old one yellow and paint spattered) expecting to detach the lamp, remove the old cable, attach the new cable and screw the rose into the existing ceiling fitment.

Good plan which failed miserably when the new rose failed to screw onto the old ceiling fitment. OK so I took a photo (turned out badly - out of focus) of the existing wiring; removed the old ceiling fitment, attached the new. redid the wires (3 cables 6 wires, 3 earth wires) and got it wrong.

Most of the light switches in the flat are all screwed up in that they activate other fittings!.

I plan to trace the wires to the switch (so at least I get those right) and hopefully the rest follow a standard ring main diagram. Is this the best I can do to unscramble this mess?

Thanks for any help
 
your 3 cables are:

1. L & N feed.
2. L & N out to next light.
3. Switch wire, red (or brown) to switch common. black (or blue) switched L from switch L1. this should be sleeved with red (or brown).

what you should have in the light rose is 3 reds in centre terminal, 2 blacks in N terminal, goes to lamp blue. then the remaining black to lamp brown. the trick is determining which black is the switched L. need a meter to test. the switch cable is the one that shows open/closed when you operate the switch. ( testing done with supply isolated). if you post your location, one of us may be close to sort it for you. it's only a half hour's job.
 
OK so I screwed up!
Went to replace my daughters ceiling fitment (old one yellow and paint spattered) expecting to detach the lamp, remove the old cable, attach the new cable and screw the rose into the existing ceiling fitment.

Good plan which failed miserably when the new rose failed to screw onto the old ceiling fitment. OK so I took a photo (turned out badly - out of focus) of the existing wiring; removed the old ceiling fitment, attached the new. redid the wires (3 cables 6 wires, 3 earth wires) and got it wrong.

Most of the light switches in the flat are all screwed up in that they activate other fittings!.

I plan to trace the wires to the switch (so at least I get those right) and hopefully the rest follow a standard ring main diagram. Is this the best I can do to unscramble this mess?

Thanks for any help
You probably have like you say 3 x cables, live feed in live feed to next light and a cable to the switch, unwise to tell you what to do as I don't like untrained people messing with electrics, it can and often does end a travesty, if not a tragedy best advice get an Electrician to put up your new fitting, 1/2 to an hours work, not an expensive option for peace of mind is it?
Good point Tel tell us where you are someone may offer to do the job for you, if you are near Northampton I'm your Man.
 
All above correct but the only deviation from above is the cable to the switch maybe a twin red.
 
Thanks guys.
I am not an electrician but do have a degree in electrical engineering so understand the basics (pull the fuse before you start!). Also have circuit tester and voltmeter so, armed with this excellent advice, I'm off after lunch to try to sort it.

If all fails you will probably see a plume of smoke from somewhere in N Watford as another ego goes up in flames!
 
Youve got a number of possible issues here. The most important is identifying the switchwire. If you get that wrong, then your room switch becomes a short circuit between live and neutral.
The switch isn't going to like that.
The circuit breaker isn't going to like that.
The poor sod operating the switch for you is certainly not going to like it.

Joking aside, the suggestion of getting a qualified electrician is maybe not the cheapest option, but certainly the safest.
 
Youve got a number of possible issues here. The most important is identifying the switchwire. If you get that wrong, then your room switch becomes a short circuit between live and neutral.
The switch isn't going to like that.
The circuit breaker isn't going to like that.
The poor sod operating the switch for you is certainly not going to like it.

Joking aside, the suggestion of getting a qualified electrician is maybe not the cheapest option, but certainly the safest.

Apparently the OP had a degree in electrical engineering. Surely somewhere in that degree they were taught how to do basic testing?
He should be able to do this himself.
 
Apparently the OP had a degree in electrical engineering. Surely somewhere in that degree they were taught how to do basic testing?
He should be able to do this himself.
Lol, we've all worked with "graduates" in the past........
 
Lol, we've all worked with "graduates" in the past........

But it's usually common sense they are missing.
Always remember a bloke at our works who broke one of his shoe laces. When he got a new pair of laces he took his other shoe off. I asked what he was doing. Apparently he was copying how the laces where done on the shoe.
 
But it's usually common sense they are missing.
Always remember a bloke at our works who broke one of his shoe laces. When he got a new pair of laces he took his other shoe off. I asked what he was doing. Apparently he was copying how the laces where done on the shoe.
i do this, i like my trainers/shoes to be symmetrical , if hes just copying and not doing it for aesthetic reasons then i agree hes a dolt
 
Hey give me a break. I did hte degree over 40 years ago!!.
Anyway. attempt 1 was a disaster (blew a fuse!). Switch is grey and red and somewhere in the celinign it becomes black and red!!. Still traced that. Wired up as (I understood I was) advised (3 reds in the middle); Grey (black) switch to lamp, other two blacks together. Switching the light on blew a fuse

I think there is something non-stanadrd going on here. Why in my first miswired attempt did several other lamps on the circuit change and/or other switches affected different lamps?

Original wiring of ceiling rose was
Red to lamp
black and two reds together
other two blacks together
Dont know which of these blacks is the switch

So I can identify the switch wires. The others are ring main. So I am trying to connect ring main to ring main (black and red) and then conect ring main to switch to lamp to ring main. Yes? I wonder if ring main red is actually red!!!
 
Hey give me a break. I did hte degree over 40 years ago!!.
Anyway. attempt 1 was a disaster (blew a fuse!). Switch is grey and red and somewhere in the celinign it becomes black and red!!. Still traced that. Wired up as (I understood I was) advised (3 reds in the middle); Grey (black) switch to lamp, other two blacks together. Switching the light on blew a fuse

I think there is something non-stanadrd going on here. Why in my first miswired attempt did several other lamps on the circuit change and/or other switches affected different lamps?

Original wiring of ceiling rose was
Red to lamp
black and two reds together
other two blacks together
Dont know which of these blacks is the switch

So I can identify the switch wires. The others are ring main. So I am trying to connect ring main to ring main (black and red) and then conect ring main to switch to lamp to ring main. Yes? I wonder if ring main red is actually red!!!

lights are radial circuits, what youre going to end up with is a mess of unconnected cables and no lighting throughout your house if you carry on
 
But it's usually common sense they are missing.
Always remember a bloke at our works who broke one of his shoe laces. When he got a new pair of laces he took his other shoe off. I asked what he was doing. Apparently he was copying how the laces where done on the shoe.
Snapped not broke and anyways I always replace both shoe laces at the same time and Telectrix tells me you are still on velcro fasteners for your footwear ;o))))))
 
Snapped not broke and anyways I always replace both shoe laces at the same time and Telectrix tells me you are still on velcro fasteners for your footwear ;o))))))
velcro??? silly arse. up here in the north where men are men, we nail shoes to our feet.
 
Can we all refrain from the cheap quips towards the OP, we will not allow the kind of replies we are seeing carry on.
(Since been deleted)

If you have positive or negative advice for the OP then please post it as long as it is respectful and constructive. Let's not continue to see the thread taken off course any further.
 
Hey give me a break. I did hte degree over 40 years ago!!.
Anyway. attempt 1 was a disaster (blew a fuse!). Switch is grey and red and somewhere in the celinign it becomes black and red!!. Still traced that. Wired up as (I understood I was) advised (3 reds in the middle); Grey (black) switch to lamp, other two blacks together. Switching the light on blew a fuse

I think there is something non-stanadrd going on here. Why in my first miswired attempt did several other lamps on the circuit change and/or other switches affected different lamps?

Original wiring of ceiling rose was
Red to lamp
black and two reds together
other two blacks together
Dont know which of these blacks is the switch

So I can identify the switch wires. The others are ring main. So I am trying to connect ring main to ring main (black and red) and then conect ring main to switch to lamp to ring main. Yes? I wonder if ring main red is actually red!!!
Hmm, you missed the last bit of Tel's post "find an electrician"!
Sounds like you may have this from your description:
Red to lamp : Switched line (the other half of this cable is the other side of the switch).
black and two reds together : switch wire, incoming line, outgoing line
other two blacks together : Neutral
No neutral wire to lamp though?

But if you correctly identified the switch wire then the fuse should not blow!
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