Neutral has power on light

[Adrian Haslett]

Hello

Really need some help please. Today I changed a outside light with the old light working. Drilled 2 new holes for raw plugs and wired in new light live, neutral, earth and light does not work. Changed light, changed wire, etc and after hrs of confusion found neutral is faulty as it is live, tested by keeping live and earth in but running neutral back to good neutral and fine. How Can I have neutral having live current after such simple swap ?, drilled through cable by accident or something ?. Please help as worried that wiring is now unsafe. Happy to have electrician out from Essex if someone can assist. I work 6 nights a week and tenant in property, hence my worry.

 

[Adrian Haslett]

One thing I did note when light was working was switch would turn on light when in down position and swapping the COM and L1 around did not make any difference, does this assist in ideas or just mean a second issue ?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

forget that.

 

[Wilko]

Can I ask, what makes you think the light neutral is live? (Do you have a 2 pole tester?). Perhaps the light neutral is no longer connected somewhere. Could there be another junction box nearby that's been disturbed?

 

[telectrix]

if the N is not connected to the origin for any reason, it will have 240V sitting on the cable via the load. no current flow = no volt drop.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

My initial thoughts were that it’s not a neutral, but a switch line?

 

[Cadgey123]

And this Ladies and Gentleman is why You should have got an electrician in the first place.

Jobs probably already doubled in price now there is a fault. Good luck with trying to find to problem.

Post a picture please

 

[Risteard]

Get an Electrician. With a tenant in the house you certainly can't afford to be carrying out dangerous DIY work.

 

[snowhead]

Get an Electrician. With a tenant in the house you certainly can't afford to be carrying out dangerous DIY work.

I read it as the O.P is the Tenant

 

[Risteard]

I read it as the O.P is the Tenant

Perhaps. Reading it again it's not terribly clear either way.

 

[telectrix]

as OP wrote it, it's ambiguous ( for any plumbers reading this; that means clear as shyte)

 

[Jamie']

Picture might help, if all else fails I do live very close to Tilbury.

 

[bcm_spark]

I remember having to sort a light out for someone once who assumed all blacks were neutral and red lives

 

[Wilko]

I remember having to sort a light out for someone once who assumed all blacks were neutral and red lives

Still happens - friend of a friend asked for help with an internal light that tripped when turned on. I arrived to find the place had just been rewired - no certs and no "Electrician" . Oh dear

 

[Phil Thompson]

Had a call out last month, new fluoro wouldn’t work.

Turns out the neutral had broken at another light on way to the fuse box, discovered loop in and out neutral twisted to a flex going to fitting, and taped up. Both N cores and broken away where they were stripped.

135volts I was getting on the neutral at the replacement fluoro.

The light the neutral was broken at was fitted when the house was built in the early 60’s.