Can anyone help with my bathroom light pull chord switch?

Bgy333 · Oct 13, 2022

I’ve got my P16th edition papers in 2006 so not a total beginner (I’m plumber as my trade tbh) but this pull chord bathroom light is not working and if trips the consumer unit .

Basically the old switch broke so I took a photo of the wiring before fitting a new light.

And it doesn’t work.

The brown an red wires are live and the two connect together are live too. I test them with this blue pen tester .

I’m gonna include photos of everything so any help be great thx

Avo Mk8 · Oct 13, 2022

What I would expect at the pull cord position is that the switch would have been between the red and brown wires, the two earth cores properly sleeved and connected to the switch earth terminal (if there is one), and the black and blue wires connected together by a wago or terminal block isolated from everything else.
Then at the light fitting, traditional connections of L, N and E.
Is this how you have tried wiring it?
Your old switch is two way, but it looks like only the two screws on the left side (third photo) have been used- I'm assuming there aren't enough wires for a two way circuit. Is there another switch for this circuit?

Tidying up of wire lengths and sleeving needed!

The above rather rashly assumes wire colours have been used for their traditional purposes.

Also be wary of quirks of pen tester.

Bgy333 · Oct 13, 2022

Avo Mk8 said:
What I would expect at the pull cord position is that the switch would have been between the red and brown wires, the two earth cores properly sleeved and connected to the switch earth terminal (if there is one), and the black and blue wires connected together by a wago or terminal block isolated from everything else.
Then at the light fitting, traditional connections of L, N and E.
Is this how you have tried wiring it?

Tidying up of wire lengths and sleeving needed!

The above rather rashly assumes wire colours have been used for their traditional purposes.

Be wary of quirks of pen tester.

Thanks for replying so fast but that’s what I did the red in common, brown L1, then the Earths to to E box (u can see where it’s been scorched)

I’ve got a traditional multi meter and so which wires would I test with Red and Black pls?

I thought the pen test was a bit crap when the Earth cable would beep the pen after a few secs!

Thsnks in. Advance (if u reply)….!

Avo Mk8 · Oct 13, 2022

Bgy333 said:
Thanks for replying so fast but that’s what I did the red in common, brown L1, then the Earths to to E box (u can see where it’s been scorched)

I’ve got a traditional multi meter and so which wires would I test with Red and Black pls?

I thought the pen test was a bit crap when the Earth cable would beep the pen after a few secs!

Thsnks in. Advance (if u reply)….!

In your movie the black wire looks nicked - did it get trapped somehow? That bit needs cutting off if you have enough cable length.
Firstly what trips in the consumer unit - MCB or RCD or what?

What are the wire colours at the light fitting? (black/red, or blue/brown) - I mean the wire coming out of the ceiling.
If the new fitting is up, with power off you could disconnect switch and check for any short circuit (between L-E or L-N etc)

Sounds like your earth core may not be connected, or with all this bare conductor about, has got trapped and connected to something it shouldn't!

Bgy333 · Oct 13, 2022

Avo Mk8 said:
In your movie the black wire looks nicked - did it get trapped somehow? That bit needs cutting off if you have enough cable length.
Firstly what trips in the consumer unit - MCB or RCD or what?

What are the wire colours at the light fitting? (black/red, or blue/brown) - I mean the wire coming out of the ceiling.
If the new fitting is up, with power off you could disconnect switch and check for any short circuit (between L-E or L-N etc)

Sounds like your earth core may not be connected, or with all this bare conductor about, has got trapped and connected to something it shouldn't!

I’ll take some more photos and post them now

Bgy333 · Oct 13, 2022

more photos
The trip switch is first one on the left

Avo Mk8 · Oct 13, 2022

OK
So I'm sorry but I don't understand what I'm looking at in the multitude of photo's.
The last ceiling fitting in your first post, is not the same as the last photo in the second post of photos (post #6)?
Do you have two seperate ceiling fittings?
The last photo in the #6 post shows two red wires in the ceiling rose. where has that second red wire come from and go to?
I don't see two red wires in any of the other photo's!
Tell me the setup Please!

So it's the MCB on the left of the CU that trips, not the RCB on the very right?
I guess that means you have some sort of short circuit between L & N on this circuit

Bgy333 · Oct 13, 2022

Avo Mk8 said:
OK
So I'm sorry but I don't understand what I'm looking at in the multitude of photo's.
The last ceiling fitting in your first post, is not the same as the last photo in the second post of photos (post #6)?
Do you have two seperate ceiling fittings?
The last photo in the #6 post shows two red wires in the ceiling rose. where has that second red wire come from and go to?
I don't see two red wires in any of the other photo's!
Tell me the setup Please!

So it's the MCB on the left of the CU that trips, not the RCB on the very right?
I guess that means you have some sort of short circuit between L & N on this circuit

I’ve pulled the wires down and cut little bit grey sheathing off.

The other pictures are the light fittings where the wires connect to the lights themselves.

Then a picture of the consumer unit

Hope this helps!

Avo Mk8 · Oct 13, 2022

Bgy333 said:
I’ve pulled the wires down and cut little bit grey sheathing off.

The other pictures are the light fittings where the wires connect to the lights themselves.

Then a picture of the consumer unit

Hope this helps!

Just to clarify - there are two light fittings as well as the switch?
Have you already rewired the ceiling rose shown in the last photo (I mean the photo with the close up of the metal bar), with the two red wires in it?
Presumably you have two red, two black, and two earth feeding that light?

Bgy333 · Oct 14, 2022

Avo Mk8 said:
Just to clarify - there are two light fittings as well as the switch?
Have you already rewired the ceiling rose shown in the last photo (I mean the photo with the close up of the metal bar), with the two red wires in it?
Presumably you have two red, two black, and two earth feeding that light?

That’s a yes to 2 light fixtures

1st one

2 black
2 red
2 earth

2nd one

1black
1ted
1 earth

Avo Mk8 · Oct 14, 2022

Bgy333 said:
That’s a yes to 2 light fixtures

1st one

2 black
2 red
2 earth

2nd one

1black
1ted
1 earth

What I would check first, with power off, is disconnect the red and black at the switch, and with no bulbs in the light fittings, use the multimeter on ohms range, check there is infinite resistance (ie open cicuit) between black and red. Not ideal, but at least would rule out a direct short in this section. Have you done any simple continuity checks to see if any miss connections?

I'm not clear if you have the new lights installed, or if wires are still hanging from the ceiling? Are new lights now in place, or are cables still disconnected?

Avo Mk8 · Oct 14, 2022

Please could you explain the series of events that lead to the breaker tripping?
Did it trip when you first turned the power back on after wiring the lights,
or did you switch the power on, nothing happened, then you pulled the switch cord, and the breaker tripped?
If the second, the pull switch might now be welded permanently on!

Normally one would expect to test a circuit before applying power to it, though that doesn't seem to be the DIY way!

Bgy333 · Oct 14, 2022

Avo Mk8 said:
What I would check first, with power off, is disconnect the red and black at the switch, and with no bulbs in the light fittings, use the multimeter on ohms range, check there is infinite resistance (ie open cicuit) between black and red. Not ideal, but at least would rule out a direct short in this section. Have you done any simple continuity checks to see if any miss connections?

I'm not clear if you have the new lights installed, or if wires are still hanging from the ceiling? Are new lights now in place, or are cables still disconnected?

The lights were installed before (by me) and worked fine, it’s when the old switch was faulty and I’ve gone to install the new one I’ve had problems of it tripping out. I just took a photo of the old wiring and copied it to the new switch

Avo Mk8 · Oct 14, 2022

Bgy333 said:
The lights were installed before (by me) and worked fine, it’s when the old switch was faulty and I’ve gone to install the new one I’ve had problems of it tripping out. I just took a photo of the old wiring and copied it to the new switch

OK I understand better, thanks.
It seems obvious to concentrate on there being something wrong in or around the new switch.
The way you've described wiring it is how I would have done it!

Do the lights work all of the time, and the mcb trips only sometimes, or how does the tripping manifest itself?

davesparks · Oct 14, 2022

What was wrong with the old switch? Could it have been the fault making the old switch appear to be faulty when it actually isn't?

Can anyone help with my bathroom light pull chord switch?

Bgy333

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