Replacing unearthed with earthed wall light

[Uralcola]

I am replacing a double-insulated wall light with one requiring an earth. There is an earth wire in the cable but it has been cut too short to fit to the light. Would I be OK to solder some wire to the existing earth so that it will reach the fitting point inside the new light?

 

[ericmark]

Wetting a twisted wire with solder to ensure good electrical contact is OK, relying on the solder to hold the two wires together is not.

 

[Uralcola]

Thanks. So if I twist the wires together so they can't come apart and then solder, that should be fine? There's enough earth showing for me to do that.

 

[sparkwright]

If you have enough wire to twist, then you should have enough to extend via one 5amp connector block.

 

[winston1]

But a good soldered joint is far superior to a connector block.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Soldering to that brings a very real risk of damaging the insulation and sheathing of the cable. Copper is a very good conductor of heat and that short stub needs to get to a temperature way in excess of what the PVC can withstand.

 

[Uralcola]

Thank you. Yes, I think there is enough wire to use a connector block. I'll try that.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

So if I twist the wires together so they can't come apart and then solder, that should be fine?