Light in walk in cupboard
- Thread starter ryetee
- Start date
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It is not safe because you have connected it wrong, which is why it does not work.
4 wires, 4 holes (plus the Earth).
In your photo I can't read the moulded identification, hence the request for a new photo.
I can only see one earth wire.
4 wires, 4 holes (plus the Earth).
In your photo I can't read the moulded identification, hence the request for a new photo.
I can only see one earth wire.
OK I'm stuck here's the photo
top left says load/l1 on right is eart
middle left says supply/l
bottom left says load/n1
bottom right says supply/n (supply is written vertically)
View media item 83925
and from another view
View media item 83926
i've tried the neutral (from the supply - none on the load) into the connector on the light itself and also the housing too.
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The supply has an earth. There are only 2 cables going to the lamp.
Right latest saga - after taking the light switch off to photograph for one of the posts I put it back. Followed the instructions and same wires went in same holes. Still the same effect red lamp comes on when no bulb in but light and bulb don't work when there is one in.
The wall socket wasn't fully screwed back into to place so when I went to do that there was a bang and the RCD tripped.
Looks like (from the colouring) that it was the earth(?) that went bang. Any way I've removed the supply to the light switch and taped the wires up and am now awaiting an electrician.
Can someone at least tell me what I was doing wrong?
The wall socket wasn't fully screwed back into to place so when I went to do that there was a bang and the RCD tripped.
Looks like (from the colouring) that it was the earth(?) that went bang. Any way I've removed the supply to the light switch and taped the wires up and am now awaiting an electrician.
Can someone at least tell me what I was doing wrong?
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How deep is the pattress for the switch?
You had the conductors in the right terminals, although this is what looked badly done to me:
I know you said you tugged at it, but the wire should be clamped under the screw, not down the side.
It looks like twin & earth - I guess someone cut the earth back. It must be connected at the FCU, even if the light itself doesn't need it. But that would not stop it working.
What does that mean?
Those are the classic symptoms of either a flaky switch or a poor connection on the supply. The neon takes so little current that it doesn't cause a voltage drop across the high resistance of the poor connection, but as soon as you add a real load the voltage does drop and neither the load nor the neon work.
Was it properly in place before you started all this?
What did it make contact with?
Please let us know what he finds.
Creating a poor connection?
Maybe it was nothing you did - maybe the socket being spurred from was already the source of the problem.
Maybe the previous owner wasn't being truthful about why he disconnected it.
As I said - we will be interested to learn the findings of your electrician.
Don't know off hand but looked a 'standard' size. Couple of inches or so from memory.
Why do you ask?
You had the conductors in the right terminals, although this is what looked badly done to me:
I know you said you tugged at it, but the wire should be clamped under the screw, not down the side.
I'd actually redone that after I had taken the photo. It probably wasn't under the screw but it was a lot further in.
There's an earth from supply going to FCU. No earth from load.
There's an earth connecter on the FCU where the earth from the supply went. There is also an earth on the pattress (I'm talking about the plastic thing which I previously called the housing - the switch isn't recessed into a hole in the wall it's in this plastic housing). I tried putting the earth on the pattress(is that the right word?)
I tightened everything up twice and then again some!! I didn't tighten the earths in the socket though as I didn't have to add a wire in there as it was already connected.
If you're asking was it in place before I started then yes it was. Also I've had it fully screwed in when I first put the new FCU in as I thought I'd got it working straight away. I left it 'loose' after the requests for photos in case I needed to take more or it was a problem in the socket.
Dunno - happened whilst I was pushing the from of the socket in so I could tighten up screws. It could have only been the side of the 'inards'. It wasn't the screw as I'd got that in already from night before - was just tightening up.
will do
I'm hoping it wasn't me! I know I'm useless with the terminology but was careful enough to follow instructions.
It wasn't the previous owners. I had an electrician in to give the electrics a clean bill of health and when I asked him why the cupboard light didn't work he said it was disconnected inside the socket and if I got it reconnected I'd have to get an FCU
John - as per later posts I'm getting an electrician in but do you know what the problem is?
Apparently I had connected everything right.
Electrician came in and couldn't find a problem until he went into the socket and found that the supply lead to my FCU was brittle and broke off when he was checking things out. HE sorted that all out reconnected everyhting in the way I had done and blow me same thing happens ie red light comes on but when you add the bulb in everything goes off.
He eventually tested voltage at socket (240) and entering FCU (less than a low number). He wasn't to sure why that was but has decided wire from supply to FCU is not good. So his next job is to replace it?
So it wasn't me
!!!
Anyone want to comment on the drop in voltage. Is it the wire or something more sinister?
Electrician came in and couldn't find a problem until he went into the socket and found that the supply lead to my FCU was brittle and broke off when he was checking things out. HE sorted that all out reconnected everyhting in the way I had done and blow me same thing happens ie red light comes on but when you add the bulb in everything goes off.
He eventually tested voltage at socket (240) and entering FCU (less than a low number). He wasn't to sure why that was but has decided wire from supply to FCU is not good. So his next job is to replace it?
So it wasn't me
!!!Anyone want to comment on the drop in voltage. Is it the wire or something more sinister?
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