DIY: new light fitting or wiring faulty? | on ElectriciansForums

Discuss DIY: new light fitting or wiring faulty? in the Lighting Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Joined
Mar 31, 2022
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
Location
Reigate, Surrey
I am trying to replace a ceiling rose with a new chandelier. I had all the wiring carefully complete, turned the power back on and...trip! Tried a couple of times and no joy.

The wiring looked correct. I think it is the unit. The company I bought it from want to collect it and then test it before sending out a replacement. Bit of a hassle. So wanted advice on whether it could be the wiring rather than unit...

I can send photos of the wiring but the big give away to me is that when I replace the old fitting it works fine. No tripping.

2 photos...
1 of the unit I'm trying to fit.
1 close up of the wiring, with the original fitting in it. That works fine
 
TL;DR
New chandelier trips the circuit. Is it the wiring or unit?

Attachments

  • [ElectriciansForums.net] DIY: new light fitting or wiring faulty?
    PXL_20220331_143029544.jpg
    725.7 KB · Views: 36
  • [ElectriciansForums.net] DIY: new light fitting or wiring faulty?
    PXL_20220331_143015622.jpg
    420.4 KB · Views: 36
It 'looks' correct however you have not earthed the new fitting. A couple of possibilities it is wired incorrectly, difficult to judge from your pics as no idea what is behind the hook plate second you may have screwed through one of the cables.
 
Thanks for the response! Appreciate it.

So the picture I have sent is of the old fitting. It doesn't have an earth. And that one is working fine.

When I replace it with the chandelier...i.e. the blue where the blue is, the brown where the black is, and wiring in the two earths...that is when it trips.
 
I'm with you now so you have put the old fitting back up and all is fine?
Have you put up another hook plate.
 
I am trying to replace a ceiling rose with a new chandelier. I had all the wiring carefully complete, turned the power back on and...trip! Tried a couple of times and no joy.

The wiring looked correct. I think it is the unit. The company I bought it from want to collect it and then test it before sending out a replacement. Bit of a hassle. So wanted advice on whether it could be the wiring rather than unit...

I can send photos of the wiring but the big give away to me is that when I replace the old fitting it works fine. No tripping.

2 photos...
1 of the unit I'm trying to fit.
1 close up of the wiring, with the original fitting in it. That works fine
Are you sure you haven’t screwed into the wires when you fixed the hanging bracket?
 
Pretty sure yeah... Since the original fitting works fine when I put it back on. Wouldn't that also trip if I'd screwed into the wires?
If the earthing arrangement of each lamp is different, it's vaguely possible that one might trip and the other not, if there's leakage to the metal ceiling plate, e.g. trapped a wire as has been suggested.

For example, your old fitting has 3 core flex, and the earth in that goes to the bulbholder, but is probably not connected to the other metalwork. Did you connect the separate earth wire on the rose to the Wago earth as well, when you put the original light back?

If not, I think it would be worth strapping a wire from the earth Wago onto the ceiling plate, just to make sure that doesn't cause a trip. Don't need the light connected up, just earth the plate and turn it on! 🤔
 
It looks to me like this is a loop in system. I think I see browns in the centre hidden by the hook.
Perhaps one of these has exposed copper touching the hook plate…. But then, the hook plate would need to be earthed to cause a problem.

The cables passing through holes in the hook plate doesn’t look right to me…. If designed that way, they should have rubber grommets protecting the cable.
And cables passing through separate holes…. I don’t think eddy currents will be a problem here 😆


To test your new fitting… you could test using your multimeter on the mega ohms scale Between Live and Earth, and between neutral and earth… both should be very high readings, indicating an open circuit. (Very low would suggest a short between these)

Testing between live and neutral would be inconclusive as there may be lamps in between.
LEDs or transformers within the fitting can give strange results.

You could also temporarily wire a plug to the new fitting flex, and plug it into a socket to test…. Although you risk tripping the socket circuit doing it this way if there is a fault.
 
You could also temporarily wire a plug to the new fitting flex, and plug it into a socket to test…. Although you risk tripping the socket circuit doing it this way if there is a fault.

This is what I has half way through typing before you posted.
Just bung a plug with a 3A fuse in it, on the new light.
 
Thanks so much for all the suggestions. Just cracked it!...

I tested the plate with a live screwdriver tester. It lit up. Removing the screws on a trial and error basis I was able to identify which one was the issue. Sorted!

Great forum this. What a fab response.
 
Glad you found the problem... what was it? an exposed cable?

Oh, and dont trust those screwdrivers for telling you something is dead... they are notoriously inaccurate sometimes
 

Reply to DIY: new light fitting or wiring faulty? in the Lighting Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Similar Threads

  • Question
Can you do a sketch of the wires and their connections but @littlespark is probably correct.
Replies
4
Views
552
Any professional forum member in or near Somerset help out? Needs a little more help than we can offer from afar.
Replies
8
Views
584
Thank you, both. Seems like common sense may have prevailed, and the fellow is indeed going for one of the modern mirrors you mentioned...
Replies
3
Views
185
well spotted, brilliant reply, a potential reply post of the month there. I didn't spot it at first, but I am old lol
Replies
4
Views
591
  • Question
As said, looked like there was enough cable slack to correct direct and avoid fitting the wagos in ceiling void
Replies
23
Views
1K

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

YOUR Unread Posts

This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by untold.media Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks