Lighting circuit

Scott69 · May 5, 2024

Hope someone can help, ran 3 spotlights and double switch all wired with 1.5mm twin and earth cable from my upstairs bedroom to switch ceiling rose and spotlights separate. The trouble am having is wiring them into old klopplin junction box, with only earth designation points, seems to be a free for all with the live and neutral block along the centre all bedrooms are wired through this and not looped. Hope my explanation to my problem is understandable

[ElectriciansForums.net] Lighting circuit

MDJ · May 5, 2024

Scott69 said:
Hope someone can help, ran 3 spotlights and double switch all wired with 1.5mm twin and earth cable from my upstairs bedroom to switch ceiling rose and spotlights separate. The trouble am having is wiring them into old klopplin junction box, with only earth designation points, seems to be a free for all with the live and neutral block along the centre all bedrooms are wired through this and not looped. Hope my explanation to my problem is understandable View attachment 116274

wow what a mess and you have run more cables to it? what do you mean by double pole switch by the way?

littlespark · May 5, 2024

double switch, not douple pole, is how i read it @MDJ

good old fashioned central joint box method.... great fun to fault find when nothing is marked. lol

timhoward · May 5, 2024

In general you have two options:
1 - using a 2 pole tester work out the box wiring and add your new wiring to it
2 - find the feed to the box (that has a permanent live feed from the consumer unit), buy and fit a quickwire splitter connector to this cable before it reaches the box, and then come out of the quickwire to supply your new lights.

If you are not confident then you are at the point that either would be a VERY quick job for an electrician as you have done the hard part and run the cables.

Scott69 · May 5, 2024

timhoward said:
In general you have two options:
1 - using a 2 pole tester work out the box wiring and add your new wiring to it
2 - find the feed to the box (that has a permanent live feed from the consumer unit), buy and fit a quickwire splitter connector to this cable before it reaches the box, and then come out of the quickwire to supply your new lights.

If you are not confident then you are at the point that either would be a VERY quick job for an electrician as you have done the hard part and run the cables.

Thanx very much for ur reply Tim, Al take option 2. All ready done the same with the opposite bedroom ceiling rose cable that's when a realised that they are not all looped. Switched the opposite bedroom light on, then switched spotlights on and on they came.
Option 2 it is,,,,,

littlespark · May 6, 2024

On an old joint box like this….. in simplest terms….

All greens together- earth or cpcs… that’s the easy one… and sometimes connected together on the outside of the box

A lot of reds together… live coming in, and a live going to each switch in each room

A lot of blacks together…. Neutral in… and a neutral from each light in each room.

Individual black connected to an individual red. Black is the switched live coming from switch, connected to the live of a light.
Get these mixed up, and a bedroom switch turns on the bathroom light… or something similar.

Complexity’s arise when you might have two way switching involved… adding yellow and blue wires…. Extractor fans in bathrooms, and the introduction of new colours in ‘05.

if I understand OP, you’ve run t&e cables from switch and lights back to this box…. The wire to the switch should have been a 3 core and earth… to give you a live feed, and 2x switchwires back up.

Scott69 · May 6, 2024

littlespark said:
On an old joint box like this….. in simplest terms….

All greens together- earth or cpcs… that’s the easy one… and sometimes connected together on the outside of the box

A lot of reds together… live coming in, and a live going to each switch in each room

A lot of blacks together…. Neutral in… and a neutral from each light in each room.

Individual black connected to an individual red. Black is the switched live coming from switch, connected to the live of a light.
Get these mixed up, and a bedroom switch turns on the bathroom light… or something similar.

Complexity’s arise when you might have two way switching involved… adding yellow and blue wires…. Extractor fans in bathrooms, and the introduction of new colours in ‘05.

if I understand OP, you’ve run t&e cables from switch and lights back to this box…. The wire to the switch should have been a 3 core and earth… to give you a live feed, and 2x switchwires back up.

Thanx for ur information littlespark

littlespark said:
On an old joint box like this….. in simplest terms….

All greens together- earth or cpcs… that’s the easy one… and sometimes connected together on the outside of the box

A lot of reds together… live coming in, and a live going to each switch in each room

A lot of blacks together…. Neutral in… and a neutral from each light in each room.

Individual black connected to an individual red. Black is the switched live coming from switch, connected to the live of a light.
Get these mixed up, and a bedroom switch turns on the bathroom light… or something similar.

Complexity’s arise when you might have two way switching involved… adding yellow and blue wires…. Extractor fans in bathrooms, and the introduction of new colours in ‘05.

if I understand OP, you’ve run t&e cables from switch and lights back to this box…. The wire to the switch should have been a 3 core and earth… to give you a live feed, and 2x switchwires back up.

Thanx for ur information littlespark, see what a can do

littlespark · May 6, 2024

As with many of the DIY questions we get on here.... We dont mind helping out (at least most of us... lol) but i would advise to know your own limits.

What i said above is in the simplest situation possible... however looking at your picture, it doesnt look so straightforward... I cant actually tell which is the main live and neutral feeds... not 100% anyway.