grey wire from extracter fan

[txter]

Hi all i have replaced my bathroom ligh with a new one. when i took down my old light there was another wire attached to it (grey) as the new fitting didnt req this i just blanked it of with a connection block, light works fine, but my extracter fan no longer works . where do i connect the grey wire in order to get my extracter fan working again

thanks

 

[baldersj]

Was the grey wire part of a 3 core cable? The other wires should have been brown and black (plus earth of course). Sounds like the switch wire for the fan. Any chance of a picture?

 

[txter]

yes thats correct brown and black and earth they are already connected i havent disturbed those

 

[baldersj]

yes thats correct brown and black and earth they are already connected i have disturbed those

What do you mean?

O yeah, have you looked at the cable coming into the fan? would be helpful to know what colours go to where

 

[txter]

they are alredy connected up together using connection blocks as they where when i took down the old light i havent disturbed them

 

[baldersj]

What colour cables do you have at:

a)your light fitting
b)the fan

 

[txter]

light

brown
blue
black
grey
earth

fan

black
brown
grey

 

[baldersj]

At the light, have you got:

2 Browns together
1 Black & 1 Blue together
All Earths together

Does the fan normally run on after the light is turned off?

 

[txter]

2 blue and a black together
4 browns together plus one feeding the light
earths together
1 single grey

hope that makes sense
yes the fan runs on after light goes out

 

[baldersj]

Is this how the wiring was arranged before you changed the light? If it was done right, the grey should be the neutral for the fan. Easiest thing to do is take the cover off the fan. If the grey is attached to the Neutral terminal, then the spare grey should go to the neutral terminal at the light.
Goin for me tea, so good luck!

 

[txter]

looked inside the fan the grey wire has got brown tape wrapped around part of it, it is connected to the switched live terminal ?

 

[baldersj]

In that case, one of the browns at the light is the switched live. Are they all connected, or is one on its own?

 

[Steve]

ffs, this could go on for the rest of your lives. I have to intervene.

txter, please respond to these questions fully and accurately.

You have a fan. Open it up. Make a note of which cores go to which terminals, and type them here in a list. For example:

L: brown
SL: black/sleeved brown
N: grey
E: bare/sleeved green/yellow

Then open up the light and tell us which cores are CURRENTLY connected to which terminal. List them as above.

Now tell us the spare cores you have at the light - these should be the fan wires, and we will be able to tell you which core to put where in the light fitting.



PS. it was a silly thing for you to have done, disconnect a wire because "the new fitting doesnt need it". Just because the wire isn't shown in the light's instructions, it doesn't mean the wire is now obselete. As you have found to your cost. All wires at a light fitting are there for a reason, and before disturbing any wiring, you should always note what goes where or take digital photographs. Heaven forbid you have any loop-in fittings that you want changing

 

[baldersj]

 

[baldersj]

Crafty, I think you scared him off. Either that or he's just found the live feed