chandalier light goes dim as you add more lamps

[pallys]

Hi, hope someone can help.

In my hallway I had a basic ceiling light fitting on a low power energy saving bulb. Missus got a chandalier form Wilkinson's over a year ago that I never got round to fitting until now...was a Jerrico 5 candle chandalier for £40. Each lamp holder can take up to 60W E14 SES bulbs.

I've wired it up as per Wilko instructions but everytime I add a 42W halogen candle style bulb (£1 each) the light output halves. I.e. its brightest with only 1 bulb in and as I add each one in up to the 5 they all end up with a very faint glow.

The light can be turned on/off from 2 locations:

2 gang switch
- switch 1 chandalier
- switch 2 turns outside front light on (energy saving bulb)

3 gang switch
- swtich 1 chandalier
- switch 2 turns on cloak room light (energy saver)
- switch 3 turns on landing light up stairs (energy saver)

The other lights don't seem to get brighter as I add a candle bulb. But it's hard to tell because the other lights are energy savers and they don't really lend themselves to get even brighter imo.

​

There was 1 cable from ceiling and inside of that were 3 wires:
brown,
blue,
yellow/green.

Then there was a separate single wire dropping from the ceiling which was also a yellow/green. Seems like I had 2 earths?

The light fitting also had a brown, blue, yellow/green so I joined these up to the 3 core in a block. The light fitting also had another yellow/green (or was it green/blue?) and I joined this to the separate yellow/green hanging from the ceiling in the 4 block.

In total 4 from ceiling was joined to 4 from the light fitting, the same colours.

To rule out the light fitting, I had a 2nd chandalier that the wife bought also over a year ago for me to fit elsewhere...I wired this in the hallway and same problem. I then wired it in the landing upstairs - same problem. The second chandalier I tried also did not require to be earthed but still same problem.

I tried different bulbs just incase - same problem...bulbs keep dimming as I add one more...

So I have ruled out the lamps and 2 different manufacture chandaliers being faulty.

Any idea what's wrong with the house wiring?

Thanks.

Ps. House built in 1988, a part p electrician previously lived here.

 

[telectrix]

sounds like a loose connection.OK with a small load, but as soon as you increase the load, it's dimming due to loss of volts. only answewr is to get a sparks in. half hour .... sorted.

 

[snowhead]

Was the single cable coming out of the ceiling twin and earth, with sleeving on the earth (green /yellow)
OR a flexible cable?

Was the upstairs a similar type cable?

When you wired the second chandellier upstairs was the first still wired in down stairs?

You won't be able to guess your way out, even an experienced spark might need a couple of guesses.

 

[tony mc]

The first bit would get me never mind the op as you would be into 1/RT = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 etc working out the parallel cct to get the resistance of the fitting!

Or am I thinking out of the box!

I would guess that there is a VD issue and maybe a bad neutral connection somewhere on the cct

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

I know Tony but its only 5 lamps!

 

[telectrix]

guesses??? we don't do guesses. just a " got it sorted, mate, just need a connector from the van" ( while scratching head)

 

[snowhead]

guesses??? we don't do guesses. just a " got it sorted, mate, just need a connector from the van" ( while scratching head)

Or, I'm off to get my Multi Function Tester, that'll find the fault..

 

[guest119]

Sounds to me like a situation a domestic spark will recognise.

Wiring up/downstairs lights from a 2 way switch/ 3 core for strappers for some reason ended up being a 2 core, no neutral therefor at up or downstairs light to match the circuit the switchwire comes from.
I reckon then that the single green has been hastily put in and is actually a neutral and belongs together with the blue wire.

Incidentally (or more importantly) the pair of earth wires on the light fitting need to be together as one and connected to the ceiling earth. There may be 2 earths on the light for several reasons ie one for the fitting and one for the cup (rose).

 

[Rockingit]

Back to basics, boys......

Q: What makes a light dim? A: a change in voltage (given that it's [for this purpose] a fixed resistance).
Q: What makes a voltage change? A: Resistance in the circuit
Q: What [sensible] options are there? A: (1) Faulty fitting wired in series; (2) Cable length is already at the max for VD for a single lamp [unlikely]; (3) loose connection; (4) there's more to this story yet to come.....

Logically, if the fault is a 'missing' or 'crossed' then it won't have worked before and won't work now with just a single lamp.
If all the other lamps in the house are energy saver types, it could be as simple as the house has a very low incoming voltage and this is the first device to show it.

 

[Jimmyb]

I would of thought it was a missing neutral my self, it will prob have something to do with the other single wire which will be a single neutral with an earth

 

[ian.settle1]

Sounds like someone who did not know what they were doing has tried to change a fitting and is now asking what to do, unless he tells us what he has actullay done we should nod not speculate to what the problem is.

 

[picturevalve]

Sounds very dangerous, it seems the fitting is in series with the phase and adding more lamps into the chandelier reduces the resistance and thus the voltage drop across the chandelier so it gets progressively dimmer. Pull up some floorboards to see what's connected where, don't guess.

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

But didn't a lamp work correctly there before?

 

[snowhead]

But didn't a lamp work correctly there before?

Worked, maybe not correctly.

 

[Guest111]

FFS get a proper spark in,dont you love it eh? Diy dave decides to have a go over the holidays hasn't got a scooby what he's doing then wants the lads to go all mystic meg and sort it.

 

[snowhead]

FFS get a proper spark in,dont you love it eh? Diy dave decides to have a go over the holidays hasn't got a scooby what he's doing then wants the lads to go all mystic meg and sort it.

Trigger, How do you know his name is Dave, could be Rodney, but he'd still be a ,,