New Light Blown fuses.

[craftwithus]

Changing a bathroom light has resulted in my lighting fuses blowing. I have checked and rechecked my connections and I believe I've replaced like for like. After replacing the fuse I pulled my overhead light switch, it jammed in the on and blew the fuses again. I suspect I need an electrician to have a look and see if if I haven't dislodged something in swapping fittings, or worse still that my wiring hasn't deteriorated.

Also why would the pull switch jam and can I fix it ?

thanx

PS this fitting is the last on the cicuit, there are 5 wires twisted together.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Did you replace a traditional 4-terminal rose with a light with only 3 terminals?

Did you wire it up thinking that all the blacks or blues were neutrals?

//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:lighting

If you did do that then the switch could well have jammed because the short circuit welded the contacts together. If that's happened you'll need a new switch.

See if the info in the Wiki sorts it out for you, if not post a photo showing the connections at the light.

 

[ColJack]

you have 3 reds, 3 blacks and 3 earths in the light right?
you connected the light across the 3 reds and the 3 blacks.. right?
well that's wrong..

the 3 reds don't connect to the light and one of the blacks is the switch wire not a nautral.. you need to find out which one and connect the light across the 2 remaining blacks and the black switch wire..

have a search on here, there are litterally hundreds of questions like this with at least one per day..

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Not just in the UK....

http://forum.doityourself.com/lighting-light-fixtures-ceiling-exhaust-fans/169326-evil-red-wire.html

 

[1john]

you switch has welded shut, you will need a new pull cord, although no point in replacing that until you have sorted the fault, head to a DIY store and pick up a pullcord, get a multimeter while you are there if you dont already have one and we can offer further instruction

 

[craftwithus]

Thanks for the replies, certainly some avenues to explore. To expand on the problem, when changing light fitting, wires were brittle. So I thought I would chop back to flexible cable having labelled everything. On final unravelling, I had at least one more breakage and one that was going to go on my undoing it. There was no junction box, and as ugly as the attached looks, this is how it was done, 1967. 4 Cables joined together and the bathroom light wiring attached on to that.

I can guess what most of you are thinking, I need to have the house re-wired, financially not viable at present.
View media item 20790[/img]
The cable to the top was the replacement for the light fitting, and yes the picture is much tidier than the original, but obviously not correct somewhere.

 

[Taylortwocities]

These are not avenues to explore!

The posts above have told you what you have done wrong
They have told you where to get detail on how to do it properly
They have told you what to do next

Your picture confirms that you have done it incorrectly

There's no point asking for advice if you don't act on it

 

[ColJack]

OMG... how much exposed wire have you left?

you are dangerous, stop right now and get someone in before you kill someone..

we don't use cable nuts anymore.. get some proper terminal blocks or if you prefer some WAGO push connectors..

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There was no junction box, and as ugly as the attached looks, this is how it was done, 1967. 4 Cables joined together and the bathroom light wiring attached on to that.

Well that's very odd - all of the blacks are connected together as are all of the reds, so unless the bathroom light used to be on all of the time then either the switch drop cable used to come from the light, or you had several lights in different places all switched together.

I can guess what most of you are thinking, I need to have the house re-wired,

You may, or may not - it's not possible to tell from that one bit of the wiring. It's not an encouraging sign, but it might be the only, or one of a few, bits of tattiness.

You would be advised to get it all properly checked.

financially not viable at present.

Would a funeral be?

The cable to the top was the replacement for the light fitting,

What else was at the light fitting? Did PL/N/E go to it from that rats nest and then a switch cable from the light?

What cables are there at the switch?

and yes the picture is much tidier than the original, but obviously not correct somewhere.

Err - you said

this is how it was done, 1967. 4 Cables joined together and the bathroom light wiring attached on to that.

So if it's the same as it was then it must be correct (connection-wise, if not the physical method of connections), assuming that the light worked correctly before.

 

[craftwithus]

This was way worse prior to this, and it was under the boards. It was never my intention to leave it like this, but re-assembling safely will still highlight a problem. Rest assured I have isolated these wires and will have them safely re-installed when I discover where it went wrong.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Changing a bathroom light has resulted in my lighting fuses blowing.

So did the fuse go all of the time, and the switch get welded shut before you started fiddling?

If not then you didn't connect it up as it was before, did you.

I thought you were showing us a photo of how it was, not what you'd done.

Not only do you not understand how lighting circuits work, ColJack is right - you are dangerously incompetent with your basic techniques.

I have checked and rechecked my connections and I believe I've replaced like for like.

No, you haven't.

I suspect I need an electrician

Yes, you do.

 

[craftwithus]

Yes you are correct I don't know about lighting circuits, that is why I asked for advice. Advice I would act on if I felt capable or call in help if not. Early replies were very useful but later ones are a bit unfair.

"you are dangerously incompetent with your basic techniques."

Let me repeat, these wires have no power to them, and won't till the problem is sorted. As wrong as it might be, that is the way things are and you're comments don't help. I wish I had a picture of how the original looked.

"There's no point asking for advice if you don't act on it."

I have not acted on any advice yet, I'm not at home, and have already called an electrician in.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Yes you are correct I don't know about lighting circuits, that is why I asked for advice.

You asked for advice after you had gone ahead despite knowing you knew nothing about it and after you created problems.

"you are dangerously incompetent with your basic techniques."

Let me repeat, these wires have no power to them, and won't till the problem is sorted. As wrong as it might be, that is the way things are and you're comments don't help. I wish I had a picture of how the original looked.

If that is like the way things were then your very first action, as soon as you lifted the boards and first clapped eyes on it should have been to get a proper junction box and sleeving for the cables, so that when you then came to lay hands on it you could put it right.

But you didn't - you re-made it in that awful and dangerous way.

You used, or re-used inappropriate materials and techniques and produced a final result which is dangerous and illegal.

The only reason that there is no power to them is because your ignorance led you to b*gg*r it up and blow the fuse and weld the switch contacts. If you hadn't done that, and hadn't had to come here for help all those wires would be live now.

I have not acted on any advice yet, I'm not at home, and have already called an electrician in.

Good-oh.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Those soldered connections look a bit permanent to me.

 

[Monkeh]

Those soldered connections look a bit permanent to me.

I see no solder, just tinned wires.