What wires connect to what

[JasonHels]

Hi all, first off I'm not an electricain

OK, I took down a ceiling rose from my kids room to put a new one up. I stupidly didn't make a note of teh wires but after some investigation have identified the following. I have 3 pairs coming from the ceiling. Each wire has a red\black and earth. I now know which is the live to the fuse box. Which one goes to teh switch and which is the loop to upstairs.

My understanding is that all 3 reds go together and all the earths go together but i do not know what to do with the 3 black wires. In my lamp i have a blue and brown wire. Do all the black ones go together or just 2 of them and to what color in the lamp?

Any help much appreciated.

Jason

 

[mogga]

call your local electrician or post your approx location and there may be a forum member close by Shouldnt cost that much and job would be done correctly

 

[Rockingit]

You have 3 cables, this is commonly found.
1 - Live & Neutral IN
2 - Live & Neutral OUT
3 - switch cable

If you do not have sufficient safe test equipment or confidence/ability to go past this point then please don't and call a sparky, it's only a 5 minute job for someone who knows how, and knows how safely.

 

[highspark]

All reds together in centre block...............................Switch wired - black to where the brown cable is you need to put a brown sleeving on this cable!.................other blacks go to where the neutral (blue cable) is.

 

[ruston]

Even an electrician would need a tester to find the switch wire safely. I would do as mogga suggests. especially as is it is in your Kids room.

 

[highspark]

He knows which is the switch wire!

 

[ruston]

Not he saying dose'nt, but what if he is wrong?

 

[highspark]

The switch wire should already be marked by a red sleeve around the black cable. If you do not kow which one is the switch wire I advise you to call an electrician. If you have a voltage tester you can bell the switch wire out by switching the light switch on and testing between red wir and black wire at each seperate cable. The switch wire will bell out.

 

[JasonHels]

Hi all, mmany thanks. I have identified teh switch black cable. I removed the switch box with the light of but power on. When i touch the black cable in the box i get nothing on my electric tester. If i switch the light on and re-touch the black cable my tester lights up so i know which is teh switch. So I have put all 3 red cables in a block, insulated them and put them up through the ceiling. What i dont know is whether the fuse box black goes with the switch black or the loop black etc and when these are connected which ones go to the brown and blue in the lamp?

 

[QSGAZ]

Dont Risk it, Get a spark.

 

[SparkyDips]

needs a full rewire, call an electrician.

 

[Spazz]

This is how people get killed and how fires start!

Stop risking yours and your childs life and get an electrician out

You will be surprised how cheap it will actually be - at most 1 hours work!

 

[Paul.M]

Also Jason you can't shove terminal blocks up into the ceiling, they need to be in the rose of the light fitting.

 

[mogga]

my thoughts exactly Paul Just coz it shows connectorblock on the instructions from BnQ doesnt mean thats the correct way to do it CALL an electrician FFS an hour tops if you make him tea n biccies you may even get it cheaper

 

[acowx]

No disrespect the the OP but I feel if you don't exactly know what your doing then get someone who does.

I had a call the other week from a friend saying he tried exactly the same thing, " I know the switch wire is this and the loop in and out is that" well obviously not because when I got there the insulation of the cable was melted to the copper due to the fact he just used pot luck and shoved cables where he thought they should go.

The point is, I went (not blowing my own trumpet!) its took me 20 minutes to sort it all out, and a new light is up (plus his missus was happy she could turn the light on without get "blown up" as she put it.

Just goes to show the dangerous poeple out there are "not the ones that don't know what they are doing its those who THINK they know what they are doing".

Get a qualified electrician and save yourself the hassle of a fire or worse.

Cheers
Ashley

 

[Guest112]

had lots of these calls before of diyers changing lights without remembering/knowing how to reconnect lol

 

[beaver74]

why is every one so quick to help someone who obviously cutting out the one person who has been to collage had sh*t wages for 4 yrs. if is because of these types of peaple there is crap all real money or work out there

 

[highspark]

my thoughts exactly Paul Just coz it shows connectorblock on the instructions from BnQ doesnt mean thats the correct way to do it CALL an electrician FFS an hour tops if you make him tea n biccies you may even get it cheaper

As a matter of interest how do you second fix your B&Q lights then? Do you JB above or use connection blocks? I personally always use connection blocks!

 

[Spudnik]

So then, while a member posts up a thread for assistance in connecting a light fitting, we are all happy to slate him for asking questions so that he can complete the job safely?

I would prefer it if someone did come here and ask, rather than go off with no help, and possibly cause himself injury.

Yes, of course it would be better to call an electrician in to assist, but he has got this far and will probably finish it one way or another.

Like it or not this goes on all day, every day.

If you dont feel like helping, then dont bother replying.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Is it true that anyone can change an accessory?
Way I read it was, the OP has identified all his cables correctly & was just asking for confirmation.
A reasonable post, you must know this lot by now.

 

[D80]

Been there and done that in the past! If you know which is the drop to the switch stick the black from it into the the same terminal block as the brown of the rose. All other blacks into the same terminal as the blue of the rose, all reds together in the middle.

At worst your switch is upside down. And if you've identified the wrong wire to the switch the fuse/mcb will blow. Should be able to put all 3 reds into the rose though, not into the void.

 

[D80]

Is it true that anyone can change an accessory?
Way I read it was, the OP has identified all his cables correctly & was just asking for confirmation.
A reasonable post, you must know this lot by now.

Have seen some truly woeful attempts at changing an accessory. And some serious amounts of copper left on show! One that sticks out of late is where a bulkhead was changed, must have been a good 40-50MM of copper on L-N conductors showing, and no earth sleeving in sight. Worked fine until the guys doing the facia/sofit had to move it.

 

[Silly Sausage]

You should've felt my first attempts at plumbing, a drier would have been handy.

 

[nickblake]

Right you know which wires are which , so identify the switch wire so it does not get confused with the others if you are replacing the light then you need to connect the wires within the fitting or install a juction box with a 3 core flex to the light fitting and push that into the ceiling under no circumstances should you tape a terminal block and pust it into the ceiling the reason being you have no idea on what happens to the connections whilst you are pushing them through the hole and could be potetially dangerouse alot of light fittings just have three terminals to connect LNE but in your case you will need a terminal block for the loops (3 Reds) these all join together then you will be left with the three earths and three blacks 2 blacks will be the neutral and one will be the switch live return which should be marked with brown sleeve this goes to the L terminal of the fitting the 2 remaining blacks go to the N terminal the 3 un sleeve earths need sleeving with green and yellow sleeve and go to the E terminal ensure the cables are connected correctly before re fitting the light if you have any doubt of you capabilites call a regestered electrician

 

[alarm man]

there was a thread a while ago about not giving advice to diyers as if it goes wrong you could be liable,not one person giving advise here has mentioned the fact proving the circuit is dead,and proved that with a meter and proving unit and proving you understand how to use them, as we all do! so they say.. the op could be working live for all we know,he wont be tho because he says he isnt..and for all the live.switch wire nuetrals going wherever thats means nothing to an untrained eye..its either a forum for sparks talking shop or a forum for diyers to get detailed advise while not understanding the detail,a short disclaimer in your sig isnt going to save anyone when the diyer is lying on the floor dead because hes followed your reply word for word..just my opinion ..