out side lights

[tozza]

hi every1

i have 2 out side lights at each side of my patio doors wich i wired up myself. i,ve been using the lights for about 3 yrs now but the builbs seem 2 blow every other month or so. i,m not sure if it because how i,ve wired them up. i,ve uploaded a diagram of how i,ve wired them up , if this is incorrect would someone please tell me the correct way. many thanks.

Untitled

• tozza
• 28 Sep 2008
• 1

 

[ezekiel]

your lights really shouldnt be run direct from the ring main

 

[tozza]

ok thanks but how or where should i be connecting them.

 

[Lectrician]

You should have connected them to a LIGHTING circuit, or if connecting them to a socket circuit like you have done, you should have incorporated a Fused Connection Unit somewhere.

For example, if you had used 2.5mm cable from the socket to the switch at the door, and then 1.0 or 1.5mm from the switch to the light, you could have placed a SWITCHED fused connection unit at the siwtch location, and used it as the light switch.

If you have used 1.0mm or 1.5mm for the entire run, then you would need to place the fused connection unit adjacent the socket, and use a small piece of 2.5mm to link from the socket to the FCU.

What size cables have you used?

Are your cables clipped direct or in trunking? Have you buried them?






In saying all the above, this gives no clue as to why your lamps are blowing early.

What type of lamp are they? What wattage? What type of light fitting? Max wattage for the fitting?

 

[tozza]

hi,a
thanks for all the advise. all i know is the wire is grey with a red , black and earth wire, when i bought the wire it was on a large reel and its berried under the plaster. sorry i cant be more helpful, its that long since i installed them. the lights outside r white lantern style and there max builbs r 60 watt. hope this helps. thanks

 

[mogget]

I think it might be time to call an electrician.

 

[NewOrder]

As others have pointed out if there is a fault and it sounds like they might be your lightts are protected only by a 30/32 amp fuse/mcb .

On top that there is the implications of part P .

 

[Steve]

I think it might be time to call an electrician.

This was 3 years ago, before he wired them up.

 

[mogget]

I think it might be time to call an electrician.

This was 3 years ago, before he wired them up.

I wasn't thinking about part p ( I think this is what you were referring to). Maybe I'm wrong but I'm concerned that the circuit may not be entirely safe due to lack of fuse, wrong cable size etc.

If the OP is able to resolve these issues himself, then maybe I jumped to a conclusion too quickly.

Of course there is part p to consider now

 

[Steve]

I think it might be time to call an electrician.

This was 3 years ago, before he wired them up.

I wasn't thinking about part p ( I think this is what you were referring to). Maybe I'm wrong but I'm concerned that the circuit may not be entirely safe due to lack of fuse, wrong cable size etc.

If the OP is able to resolve these issues himself, then maybe I jumped to a conclusion too quickly.

Of course there is part p to consider now

No, I wasnt thinking about Part P. I was thinking about the OP's apparent lack of knowledge regarding the subject in hand. He has no comprehension of the rules regarding cable selection, protection, and circuit design. He has no business messing with electrics. He got some cable and strung it between a socket, a switch and two lights. He has no idea what sort of cable he used, what size it was, and indeed, whether the circuit he has created is safe. But it looks nice and the missus is happy, so thats all that matters.

Godknows what other abominations he's created.

 

[mogget]

Hi Steve,

Yes, I did misunderstand you.

I think we may be having a 'heated agreement' - I was trying to make the same point you just made, but obviously I didn't make it very well. I must remember that my own sense of irony doesn't come across well in text

 

[Steve]

Either way, I think we scared him off

 

[tozza]

this is to steve and mogget
just for the record i,m a she not an he and by all means say what you need to say but say it without an attitude.i,ll put my hand up and addmitt i dont know what size the wire was e.t.c but the lights have worked fine for the last 3 yrs other then the builb dont last very long. so if u cant leave yr comments without having an attitude then dont leave them at all.

 

[Lectrician]

this is to steve and mogget
just for the record i,m a she not an he and by all means say what you need to say but say it without an attitude.i,ll put my hand up and addmitt i dont know what size the wire was e.t.c but the lights have worked fine for the last 3 yrs other then the builb dont last very long. so if u cant leave yr comments without having an attitude then dont leave them at all.

Thats the shocking piece

Far too many people will always come back saying "but it has worked fine for years". It doesn't mean it has worked safely.

Electricity sits and does its job until one day when, for what ever reason, the fuse on the circuit needs to operate to clear a fault. A poorly selected cable and fuse could then result in fire. It may have worked just fine for the 3 years previously.

The other issue I was concerned with was the cables buried in the wall. These need to be run in 'safe zones', where people would expect the cable to be. It appears as if yours are not.

As for the lights blowing bulbs constantly, I would hazard a very honed guess towards the use of cheap supermarket lamp bulbs rather than a 'wiring fault'.

 

[AMEdinburgh]

Or possibly corroded contacts in the lamp holders, causing the bulb filaments to cycle. I've had similar with an outside lamp at my home (on a lighting circuit and RCD protected) and I'm so fed up of the short bulb life it's for the chop, when I get round to it. The contacts are quite flimsy plated affairs and quite simply I wish I'd spent more money on the fitting and bought a better quality product.

Tozza, in the house I converted to a surgery, I discovered lights in the conservatory, just as you have wired them, off the back of a socket from a consumer unit ("fuse box") with no RCD protection. Quite simply it was potentially lethal although it did "work". The only protection was the wire fuse and touching that switch with wet hands could well mean death. The first thing I did when I bought the house was to link everything to the appropriate fuse and write it all down and when I found the lights to be on a power circuit without a fused spur, they were switched off, the switch taped over and a notice put up to prevent anyone from touching them until the conservatory was removed and the house rewired for the conversion.

The electricians here are concerned for your safety and are frightened by what you have. They are not giving you grief, for their own amusement.