Lighting Circuit and Switch Wiring

[JohnW2]

Just to update you all I have tested everything and the live wires were the brown wires.

I'm not sure whether that makes things better or worse! It sounds as if whoever did the wiring knew that brown was line/live and blue was neutral yet, despite that, decided to switch the blue (neutral) feed. If it were me, that would still leave me wondering what other things might be wrong in other parts of the electrical installation.

What happened was whoever put it in just wired it up incorrectly which caused the dim LED's as there was constant current running through them.

Are you just referring to the switching of neutral, rather than live, (which, in itself, would not result in any current constantly flowing through the LEDs) or to some other wiring error?

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm not sure whether that makes things better or worse!

I am.

Using the wrong colours can easily lead to confusion, and confusion can lead to danger. But it is not, per se, dangerous.

Switching the neutral is.

morpheus - as others have said you really should get a thorough inspection done. You have the misfortune to now be the owner of an electrical installation which was previously in the care of a stupid, ignorant, dangerous fool, and that sort of person could have created a death trap for you.

 

[JohnW2]

I'm not sure whether that makes things better or worse!

I am. Using the wrong colours can easily lead to confusion, and confusion can lead to danger. But it is not, per se, dangerous. Switching the neutral is.

Perhaps I was not clear enough. I agree with what you say but I was talking about whether it made it 'better or worse' in terms of our view of the person who did the wiring (and quite possibly made other basic errors). Had he just misunderstood the colours, and therefore thought that his switch in the blue was switching the line conductor, then that would have been bad enough - but it would not, in itself, indicate any lack of understanding of crucial electrical principles. However, by demonstrating that he did know which colour was which, he has revealed (when switching blue/neutral) that he does not understand those basic and crucial electrical principles.

I can't even excuse him on the basis of having 'overlooked' this error. If you or I were doing it, we wouldn't even need conscious thought - we would, at a deeper intuitive level than that, simply know that a switch in a neutral line was wrong.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Perhaps I was not clear enough. I agree with what you say but I was talking about whether it made it 'better or worse' in terms of our view of the person who did the wiring

I am. He switched the neutral - it's worse.

 

[JohnW2]

Perhaps I was not clear enough. I agree with what you say but I was talking about whether it made it 'better or worse' in terms of our view of the person who did the wiring

I am. He switched the neutral - it's worse.

Exactly - and, had you quoted some of the rest of my post, it would be very apparent that such was my view.

Kind Regards, John

 

[morpheus83uk]

I have looked at the other switches upstairs and down and they are all the same in that the live wires are in the switch and I have tested them and they are live. It looks like it was just them two switches which were incorrect which could have been done by the previous owner. I have also looked at the celling roses in them two rooms as done the testing there and everything is correct in them. So I think it may have been the previous owner who has done this opposed to a certified electrician.

I have also looked at the ceiling roses for the other lights I changed and these are all fine and there are only two others which I need to look at and then I have done them all so it looks like everything is fine just the two switches were wrongly wired.

 

[JohnW2]

I have looked at the other switches upstairs and down and they are all the same in that the live wires are in the switch and I have tested them and they are live. It looks like it was just them two switches which were incorrect which could have been done by the previous owner. I have also looked at the celling roses in them two rooms as done the testing there and everything is correct in them. So I think it may have been the previous owner who has done this opposed to a certified electrician. ... I have also looked at the ceiling roses for the other lights I changed and these are all fine and there are only two others which I need to look at and then I have done them all so it looks like everything is fine just the two switches were wrongly wired.

You may, of course, well be right - but, equally, it's impossible to be sure. If the same person (whoever) who incorrectly wired those two switches also did other things to the electrical installation (perhaps things which are not visually obvious and/or which do not involve lighting circuits), anything is possible. In the final analysis, it comes down to whether you are comfortable with your assumption that the two mis-wired switches were the work of someone who was not involved with any other aspects of the electrical installation.

Kind Regards, John

 

[morpheus83uk]

Yes this is true however I will see what happens and get an electrician in if needs be.

Thank you all for your help with this and clearing things up for me your help is much appreciated.

James

 

[WabbitPoo]

Whilst you might think the experts here have been a little hard on you (we have all experienced it!) your final comment is indicative of the casual respect with which most people treat electrcs....waiting to "see what happens" in a property in which you KNOW there have been dangerous errors made (well, at least one) is putting you, and anyone else in the home at some risk.

Why not fork out some money and get it checked out? Finding out "what happens" might be too late.

Just a friendly suggestion.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thank you for that I do see your point but from what I have seen else where it looks like just the switch which was the problem everything else looks alright.

I have since had the rest of the lights off the ceiling and checked these and the switches which go with them and only the pictured one had the issue. So everywhere I can get to without ripping the floor boards up I have checked and is all fine.

What else would an electrician check? Go up in the loft and check all the cables? Rip all the floor boards up and check the cabling under them? Check the RCD?

I don't have a casual way of looking at electrics I appreciate they are dangerous and I have a healthy attitude towards life and keeping it that way I just cant see what else an electrician would do...

James

 

[Taylortwocities]

I just cant see what else an electrician would do...

James

No nothing else, except for……

Continuity of all Conductor & circuits
R1 + R2 figures
Insulation Resistance Testing
Confirmation of Earthing
RCD testing (NOT just pressing the test button!)
Polarity (v, important for you!)
EFLI
Functionality
etc etc

 

[phatboy]

Better check all the sockets, FCU's and other accessories too in case of reversed polarity.

Still not sure why all the switches you inspected only had 2 sets of cables? Sounds rather unusual.

 

[JohnW2]

Still not sure why all the switches you inspected only had 2 sets of cables? Sounds rather unusual.

One might suspect that all the separate switch/light pairs might be on cables which radiate from some jumbo JB somewhere - which would, indeed, be 'rather unusual' (although, I suppose, nothing particularly 'wrong' with it)!

Kind Regards, John

 

[morpheus83uk]

What is an FCU?

Oh right I thought they would just check the wiring and the RCD really... thanks for that I will have a look around for an electrician to check it. Would this be done on a 10 year inspection as my house is 10 years old and it's recommended to get it checked every 10 years. Would all this be checked and rectified if rectification was required? Obviously for a cost....

If so how much would I be looking at roughly to have this done?

 

[JohnW2]

What is an FCU?

A fused connection unit, with or without a switch - used to wire things permanently, rather than connecting them via a plug/socket. Most houses have some (e.g. for boiler, maybe for a fan etc.)

Oh right I thought they would just check the wiring and the RCD really... thanks for that I will have a look around for an electrician to check it. Would this be done on a 10 year inspection as my house is 10 years old and it's recommended to get it checked every 10 years. Would all this be checked and rectified if rectification was required? Obviously for a cost....

The inspection and testing would result in a report which would identify any issues/defects, and would make recommendations, indicating the degree of urgency, for rectification of each of them. It would then be for you to indicate which you wished to be rectified (you would not be obliged to take up all recommendations), and to negotiate the cost of that rectification.

Kind Regards, John