A
acvc
Hi folks.
I was called to a shop today where someone had driven into the shopfront (80 year-old driver in an automatic attempting to parallel park).
The builder has made good the shopfront, and before he started he disconnected the track lighting at a junction box on the wall in the shop window, and he called me to ask if I would re-connect it.
Not having done much commercial work I was surprised to find that the track was fed with flex having four black cores and earth. I thought this was 3-phase equipment, checked the mains incomer and found that it is a 3-phase head with a single phase being taken from it, tails being split after the meter.
As its still connected to the end of the track, I can bell out each core to identify L1, 2 and 3, and neutral. (None of the flex cores were sleeved or marked).
The JB is arranged like this:
Two T&Es loop in and out (L, N E). Two more T&Es come in, reds go to a fourth terminal, and blacks sleeved red are going to a fifth. There's 230V between the neutral and each of the three lives. It looks like a 2-way switch arrangement, and I'm wondering if a switch was replaced by the JB. However, all I shouldn't be getting a voltage three ways if it was a switch.
I asked about switching, and was told it was only switched at the mcb on the board, which I found hard to believe. I wasn't allowed to switch anything off at the board either (although I certainly will when I do the reconnect). So I haven't done anything yet except look and test for voltage.
Am I right in assuming that L1 would go to the loop-in/out live, and that L2 and L3 can go to either of the other two lives?
I'm meeting the builder there to see if he can remember anything at all. Sorry for no pix and incomplete info re switching. Any nudges in the right direction?
Cheers.
I was called to a shop today where someone had driven into the shopfront (80 year-old driver in an automatic attempting to parallel park).
The builder has made good the shopfront, and before he started he disconnected the track lighting at a junction box on the wall in the shop window, and he called me to ask if I would re-connect it.
Not having done much commercial work I was surprised to find that the track was fed with flex having four black cores and earth. I thought this was 3-phase equipment, checked the mains incomer and found that it is a 3-phase head with a single phase being taken from it, tails being split after the meter.
As its still connected to the end of the track, I can bell out each core to identify L1, 2 and 3, and neutral. (None of the flex cores were sleeved or marked).
The JB is arranged like this:
Two T&Es loop in and out (L, N E). Two more T&Es come in, reds go to a fourth terminal, and blacks sleeved red are going to a fifth. There's 230V between the neutral and each of the three lives. It looks like a 2-way switch arrangement, and I'm wondering if a switch was replaced by the JB. However, all I shouldn't be getting a voltage three ways if it was a switch.
I asked about switching, and was told it was only switched at the mcb on the board, which I found hard to believe. I wasn't allowed to switch anything off at the board either (although I certainly will when I do the reconnect). So I haven't done anything yet except look and test for voltage.
Am I right in assuming that L1 would go to the loop-in/out live, and that L2 and L3 can go to either of the other two lives?
I'm meeting the builder there to see if he can remember anything at all. Sorry for no pix and incomplete info re switching. Any nudges in the right direction?
Cheers.
