Ceiling light nightmare...urgent help required please

[Peldon]

Thanking anyone who can shed some light on this, no pun intended, in advance.

I am trying to install a new ceiling light. My girlfriend decided she would take it upon herself to get things started and took down the old one, and the plate the wires were connected to....

The light fitting has three wires, Brown (Live), Blue (Neutral) and Green/Yellow (Earth), but I now have protruding from the ceiling 4 Red Wires, 2 Black, and 2 earths. I have ascertained that one of the red cables is live (I used one of those screwdrivers with the bulb in, sorry I don't know the correct name for them). Now the new connecting plate, has 3 sets of connectors which are grouped together. Three for the neutral (which are connected to each other), I am assuming that I put both Black wires from the ceiling into this one, plus the blue wire from the new fitting. Then there are connectors (I cant remember if they are named live or loop) and another set of two connectors (again I cant remember if this is the live or the loop). Where do I connect the "Live" red lead too and what about the remaining 3 red wires? I am assuming that one of them has to connect into the set of two connectors with the Brown lead from the new ceiling light, and all the earths together on the earth connector?

So far all I have managed to do is connect the light up so that when I switch the fuse box back on, it stays on constantly and the light switch has no effect over it.

Also, I went into my hallway and had a look at the wiring for the ceiling light there, and I discovered that in that ceiling rose 3 of the red wires are live as opposed to the one red wire at where I am trying to install this new light.

(note: none of the red wires have any identifying bands, they're all identical)

If anyone can help, I will be eternally grateful, my girlfriend is due on this week and the nagging is killing me.

Cheers

Peldon[/img]

 

[breezer]

see the for reference, you also need
a) a lot of luck
b) multi meter

 

[Peldon]

Cheers mate, unfortunately I'm a million miles from anywhere I could get hold of a multi meter, and she'll be home in a couple of hours hahahaha

Is it just a case of switching the reds around in the hope of hitting the right combination?

 

[plugwash]

4 Red Wires, 2 Black, and 2 earths.

do theese cores form into any sort of cable?

you should have a cable bringing power in (permanent live and neutral)
a cable taking power to the next light (permanent live and neutral)
and a cable to the switch (permanent live and switched live)

the switch cabel should have two reds (one of them will often be a black sleeved red)

im also a little worried that you only mention 2 earths

 

[JerryD]

At the wall switch for this light are the two wires in the the switch both red?

If so this would account for two of the four reds.

The others are line in and line out (black and red in + black and red out)

If you DO have two reds at the switch (and no blacks) proceed as follows:

Both blacks together and the blue (neutral) from the light fitting in one terminal.

You need to identify which of the four reds is the switched live, You can do this by trial and error. Put three of the reds into the 'live' terminal and the fourth into the same terminal as the brown from the light. If that doesn't work swop it for another and so on. The only red you don't need to try is the one which is permanantly live.

If it's all disconnected, are there other lights in the house which don't work? There should be as the 'line out' is no longer connected to the supply?

A multimeter would sort this out in seconds!

 

[who took my fluke?]

could you possibly draw or take a pic what you have got and post up so we can see?

 

[securespark]

You need to identify which of the four reds is the switched live, You can do this by trial and error. Put three of the reds into the 'live' terminal and the fourth into the same terminal as the brown from the light. If that doesn't work swop it for another and so on. The only red you don't need to try is the one which is permanantly live

Surely if you have a twin red, then one of the reds goes to SW Live and the other three are the loop??? No trial and error.....