What am I doing wrong?

[jamesab]

Hey guys.

I'm trying to wire a new class 1 light in the kitchen. The light that was removed was double insulated and therefore was not grounded. The new one needs grounding, but I'm a noob at this and not sure I've got the wiring correct. (See diagram)

I have tried to follow the wiring diagrams on here as best I can without success.

I have move the ground from wire 4 and connected them to the other earth wires in the first choc block. Then connected another earth cable from choc block 1 to choc block 2, then from that to the wire. This seems to have worked however all of the lights are now flickering so obviously not!

Cheers

James

D1

• jamesab
• 7 Oct 2015

 

[EFLImpudence]

Wow. Well, it could work if the yellow is the return switch wire but -

why do a red and blue disappear out the top?

 

[Jackrae]

If your new light is an LED and it is flickering this suggests you have lost the neutral and it is the capacitance of the earth lead that is providing a high impedance "neutral". May I suggest you either draw a clearer diagram of the EXACT wiring or provide a high resolution in-focus photograph.

 

[jamesab]

Wow. Well, it could work if the yellow is the return switch wire but -

why do a red and blue disappear out the top?

Good question, but one which I can't answer I'm afraid. I have no idea.

If your new light is an LED and it is flickering this suggests you have lost the neutral and it is the capacitance of the earth lead that is providing a high impedance "neutral". May I suggest you either draw a clearer diagram of the EXACT wiring or provide a high resolution in-focus photograph.

The new light is not LED it uses capsule bulbs. Also, it's not just the light itself that is flickering it's through the entire house (bungalow). I have now removed the light but the flickering hasn't stopped, so I'm thinking it's possibly a loose connection in the choc?

I have taken some pictures, hopefully you can make some sense out of them!

Cheers

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm trying to wire a new class 1 light in the kitchen. The light that was removed was double insulated and therefore was not grounded. The new one needs grounding, but I'm a noob at this and not sure I've got the wiring correct.

Earthing the light, or not, is completely unrelated to the L/N/SL connections it has.

If they were all OK on the old light, and you faithfully transposed them to the new one, the fact that the new light is earthed is irrelevant.

So you either broke something, or you didn't wire the new light up in the way the old one was.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

{Photos showing enough meals to feed the Duke of Beaufort's pack for a day}

• Unsleeved earth conductors
• Visible copper
• Dodgy looking connections

Plus - will that lot fit into the body of the new light? You may not just stuff it up into the ceiling.

Basically you now have to follow Plan A or Plan B

PLAN A:

• Learn how lighting circuits are wired.
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:Lighting
    
  • http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uk+lighting+wiring+(basics+OR+101)
    
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:books
    
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:index
• You'll probably need to get a multimeter and learn how to use it.
• Identify which conductors are which at the switches and the light positions.
• Check for circuit continuity, switches working etc.
• Connect everything up properly.

PLAN B:

• Get an electrician.

There are some irresponsible people here who will tell you that there is a Plan C, which is to start trying different things without really knowing what's going on, hoping to get it working by luck, or by blindly following instructions to put-this-wire-in-that-hole without any idea as to why. Please don't listen to them - you must know what, and truly understand what, you are doing. Electrical-installation-by-guesswork is a foolish idea. There is no Plan C.

 

[jamesab]

So you either broke something, or you didn't wire the new light up in the way the old one was.

I don't think I broke anything. I hope not anyway! I took pictures before hand so I knew where everything was placed. The only thing that confused me is the earth wire from the loft going straight back in to the bottom of the choc then back up? When I made an earth connection from this to the light, it tripped the fuse box repeatedly. So I switched said cable to the top choc with the others which seemed to work apart from the lights flickering.

Cheers

 

[jamesab]

{Photos showing enough meals to feed the Duke of Beaufort's pack for a day}

• Unsleeved earth conductors
• Visible copper
• Dodgy looking connections

Plus - will that lot fit into the body of the new light? You may not just stuff it up into the ceiling.

Basically you now have to follow Plan A or Plan B

PLAN A:

• Learn how lighting circuits are wired.
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:Lighting
    
  • http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uk+lighting+wiring+(basics+OR+101)
    
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:books
    
  • //www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:index
• You'll probably need to get a multimeter and learn how to use it.
• Identify which conductors are which at the switches and the light positions.
• Check for circuit continuity, switches working etc.
• Connect everything up properly.

PLAN B:

• Get an electrician.

There are some irresponsible people here who will tell you that there is a Plan C, which is to start trying different things without really knowing what's going on, hoping to get it working by luck, or by blindly following instructions to put-this-wire-in-that-hole without any idea as to why. Please don't listen to them - you must know what, and truly understand what, you are doing. Electrical-installation-by-guesswork is a foolish idea. There is no Plan C.

Understood! Time to get a professional in I think!

Many thanks

 

[securespark]

If the whole house lights are flickering, you have a dodgy connection on the loop, the terminal with lots of reds in.

If you can get up above, it would save you heaps of aggro to fit a MF junction box in the space above and then just have one cable dropping through the ceiling to feed the light fitting.

You do need to ensure the cables and conductors are neatly stripped, dressed and terminated.

 

[jamesab]

If the whole house lights are flickering, you have a dodgy connection on the loop, the terminal with lots of reds in.

If you can get up above, it would save you heaps of aggro to fit a MF junction box in the space above and then just have one cable dropping through the ceiling to feed the light fitting.

You do need to ensure the cables and conductors are neatly stripped, dressed and terminated.

That sounds like a good idea. The bulky wires are causing me some issues at the moment and only just fit in to the new lights base. I don't want to force them in and end up ruining the fitting.
Thanks for your advice!