new light fitting

[Tonto]

Hi new to posting but avid reader of the board.

i've bought a new light fitting (brown-blue-earth wires) which I attempted to attach to the ceiling. The only wires in the ceiling are brown-blue-earth so logic would assume that you'd connect blue-blue, brown-brown & earth-earth. Did this and the bloody thing don't work. Used a tester and the brown wire in the ceiling is live and so is the blue wire when switched on??? Is this correct or am I doing something really daft. I'm assuming there's a junction box somewhere in the ceiling.

Opened the switch and it has three wires (red, black and yellow). Used a tester and the red & black wires are both live as well.

Help me before I get committed

 

[breezer]

assuming the light was working before you touched it? put old light back and see does it work, if it does new light at fault, if it doesnt you may have pulled too much on the blue wire, so will have to find the jb in the ceiling

 

[Tonto]

thanks breezer for the reply.

I haven't got an old light fitting . I did try the new fitting in another ceiling and it worked so the light isn't the problem and I can't dig around in the ceiling as its elegant cornicing. i'll have another look at it 2morrow.

On another note any idea who runs any good short courses out there. I've just started the NVQ 2 but it's very sloooooow

 

[L.Spark]

Hey Tonto

Im afraid you missed out somthing critical......The Switch!

it's likely that one cables goes to the switch, the brown takes the live to the switch, and the blue brings it back, the blue should have been sleeved brown so the unwise know its live.

if you have found red + yellow and blue cores, it's likely this is the other switch and that it's too way wired, however it's possible it's one way switching with the red as a 'common' and obviously a return for 2 seperate lights, e.g. yellow = return live light 1 and blue = return live light 2

could you please tell us where the light is located? also if it is 1 switch or its a double or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 etc.

 

[Tonto]

L.Spark, thanks for your help as well.

I still can't get any sleep trying to work this problem out

In answer to your question it's a single on-way switch. The light is in the ceiling in the main living room (is that what you meant?) , it may well be that the wires are both live as you say however if that is the case how woud you wire that up to a pendant light with the normal blue-brown-earth wires attached?

Thanks for all the help thus far though

 

[L.Spark]

Hey TonTo

Yes, the switch can tell me alot about the setup and as you say it's one-way and one-gang which sounds pretty normal for a living room.

the funny thing is you say theres these three wires, is it three wires and an earth or just three wires

there has to be two lives either way, one goes to one side of the switch, and one goes to the other side.....there should be 2 terminals in the switch, if theres 3 then its 2-way switching..... does one of these colours go to the earth connection in the back box.

could you take us a picture by any chance, makes it a bit easier to see whats going on.

 

[Tonto]

L.Spark, thanks for your replies, I won't even ask why your still awake

The switch has three wires, two live and one earth. So I presume the wires in the ceiling are both live despite the colouring. If this is the case how do you wire that to a light fitting with the standard brown-blue-earth connections?

Thanks for the help thus far and in the future

 

[breezer]

L.Spark, i never mentioned the switch becasue he said "The only wires in the ceiling are brown-blue-earth " he also said "I'm assuming there's a junction box somewhere in the ceiling. "

that would be the case since the colours have just recently changed, so i would say a wire in the jb has come loose,(when taking previous light down) not the switch

 

[Tonto]

l.Spark & breezer, thanks for all the help.

Finally got it working. Lifted up the floorboards upstairs to look down on the cables and discovered a hidden ceiling rose and the neutral was not connected to the rose ....... duh

Now have to refit the antique floorboards, think I need the joinery section on this site

 

[breezer]

l.Spark & breezer, thanks for all the help.

Finally got it working. Lifted up the floorboards upstairs to look down on the cables and discovered a hidden ceiling rose and the neutral was not connected to the rose ....... duh

thats what i said it was (quoted from my first reply)

assuming the light was working before you touched it? put old light back and see does it work, if it does new light at fault, if it doesnt you may have pulled too much on the blue wire, so will have to find the jb in the ceiling

 

[L.Spark]

l.Spark & breezer, thanks for all the help.

Finally got it working. Lifted up the floorboards upstairs to look down on the cables and discovered a hidden ceiling rose and the neutral was not connected to the rose ....... duh

Now have to refit the antique floorboards, think I need the joinery section on this site

Nice one, Don't forget to isolate whenever working on circuits, the neutral is technicaly a live conductor and always has a return voltage.

 

[L.Spark]

l.Spark & breezer, thanks for all the help.

Finally got it working. Lifted up the floorboards upstairs to look down on the cables and discovered a hidden ceiling rose and the neutral was not connected to the rose ....... duh

thats what i said it was (quoted from my first reply)

assuming the light was working before you touched it? put old light back and see does it work, if it does new light at fault, if it doesnt you may have pulled too much on the blue wire, so will have to find the jb in the ceiling

lol Yep, don't you just hate connections under floor boards, especially since there meant to be accessible