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Wiring a light
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
In my new bedroom there was a fitted light which was ugly so i took it down and bought a pendant fitting from B&Q so I coukd just put up a shade.
When i went to wire it up I noticed that there was a connector block already there so I just connected the live and neutral wires from the new fitting to the old connector block. The only problem I had was that the wires were coloured RED, BROWN and YELLOW/GREEN. The house is over 20 years old and I didn't think there would be a difference in colurs but since there was I guessed and connected BROWN/BROWN, RED/BLUE.
There was no earth wire connected from the old fitting and I didn't connect the earth this time either.
Could someone tell me if what I've done is right?
When i went to wire it up I noticed that there was a connector block already there so I just connected the live and neutral wires from the new fitting to the old connector block. The only problem I had was that the wires were coloured RED, BROWN and YELLOW/GREEN. The house is over 20 years old and I didn't think there would be a difference in colurs but since there was I guessed and connected BROWN/BROWN, RED/BLUE.
There was no earth wire connected from the old fitting and I didn't connect the earth this time either.
Could someone tell me if what I've done is right?
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Comments
What's more worrying though is the lack of earthing cable in the house. The light fixture is fitted with an earth cable because it needs one. Without connecting it any slight issue is going to leave you with a live fitting, which will be especially problematic if you have fitted the phase and neutral the wrong way around.
Personally, I'd suggest getting a sparky in to check out both your fitting and the electrics in general.
I will get someone to check it out, just wanted to give it a try for myself.
The old fitting was brass and it didn't have an earth connected at all and I wasn't sure if I needed one. The fitting I bought didn't have an earth wire, just a hollow, plastic earth (green and yellow) cover.
The part p stuff may only be England and Wales. Either way in a bedroom you should still be allowed to do a straight swap for existing stuff.
Worth getting it checked out still.
My other half is a spark but does industrial so he legally can't meddle with the electrics in our own home without getting a certified electrician to check he's done it correctly.
I'll ask him to look at your query when he gets home
Live=Red
Neutral=Black
Earth=Green and Yellow (see note)
Note: the earth feed is normally bare copper in mains installation cable, the Green and Yellow applies to the coloured sleeving which needs to be fitted where the earth is connected to a fitting or appliance.
Post March 2004 the UK standard was changed to:
Live=Brown
Neutral=Blue
Earth=Green and Yellow (no change)
You may recognise that this new colour coding is the same as used for appliance flexes in the UK for many years.
I've just been doing some research on your earthing problem, however all i've been able to find so far is that if the appliance or fitting HAS an earth wire, then it HAS to be earthed, otherwise if you touch it whilst switched on you'll fry. The only way around it is to contact an electrician who will do the necessary.
WhoWhere - (welcome back btw) So am I to understand that the brown wire should have been connected to the neutral and the red to the live?
I'm confused as to how there is a "left" and a "right" when you are talking about a circular fitting.
Yep. I think that's right. Be very careful though. You never know with old wiring. Get an electrician in (or someone who knows) if in doubt.
The brown wire on the fitting will be live, so connect that to the red wire in the ceiling.
The blue wire on the fitting is neutral so should be connected to the black wire in the ceiling.
Either way though, the presence of an Earth wire on the fitting, but not in the ceiling means you're gonna need a sparky anyway.
Yes, thankyou. I'm not stupid, I know how to wire a plug. The reason I asked was because he's not been talking about plug or socket wiring, he's talking about a light fitting. Going on the basis of a rule that depends on a wire being "to the left" or "to the right" is fairly risky if you are dealing with something that's above your head and where the wires could pretty much be dangling down in any way they choose.