Outdoor security Light

[Yammi]

Hi all, got a slight problem when fitting a outside light. Around ten years ago I had an electrician fit a Security light which included all the wiring through the cavity wall. Had no problems with the light what so ever, but now I have decided to fit a new one which I have purchased from Homebase.

Right the problem I now have is the light needs three wires Live, natural, & Earth, easy so i thought. The problem that I have now his that there are four wires hanging out of the wall Red, blue, yellow/green, and yellow. I could wire the red/live, blue/neutral, yellow/green, earth but am at a loss on what to do with the single yellow. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks Phil.

 

[heathelect]

Hi all, got a slight problem when fitting a outside light. Around ten years ago I had an electrician fit a Security light which included all the wiring through the cavity wall. Had no problems with the light what so ever, but now I have decided to fit a new one which I have purchased from Homebase.

Right the problem I now have is the light needs three wires Live, natural, & Earth, easy so i thought. The problem that I have now his that there are four wires hanging out of the wall Red, blue, yellow/green, and yellow. I could wire the red/live, blue/neutral, yellow/green, earth but am at a loss on what to do with the single yellow. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks Phil.

was the original light a security light with a sensor attached,
was there a switch inside to switch it on and off as well ?

 

[TonOfSand]

Same ? If it had an override switch then that's probably what it is. New light will probably be automatic but with settings for sensitivity & light.

 

[Yammi]

Hi all, got a slight problem when fitting a outside light. Around ten years ago I had an electrician fit a Security light which included all the wiring through the cavity wall. Had no problems with the light what so ever, but now I have decided to fit a new one which I have purchased from Homebase.

Right the problem I now have is the light needs three wires Live, natural, & Earth, easy so i thought. The problem that I have now his that there are four wires hanging out of the wall Red, blue, yellow/green, and yellow. I could wire the red/live, blue/neutral, yellow/green, earth but am at a loss on what to do with the single yellow. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks Phil.

was the original light a security light with a sensor attached,
was there a switch inside to switch it on and off as well ?

Yes the Security light had a sensor attached, and there is a light switch inside the house just for on/off.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Get a multimeter.

In the same way that you wouldn't consider doing the mechanical aspects of this job without proper screwdrivers, or generally you wouldn't expect to make holes in things without a proper drill, cut things without a proper saw, drive in nails without a proper hammer, etc, a multimeter is an essential tool to have if you are going to do any electrical work.

 

[riveralt]

Yes the Security light had a sensor attached, and there is a light switch inside the house just for on/off.

What type is the security light now?
Sounds as if your switch had been wired up to send a permanent live/neutral to the sensor and an over ride switch live the light via the switch.
But to confirm we need a photograph of the rear of the switch with the conductors still attached - make sure circuit is dead before you do this.
I assume that your new lamp just requires live and neutral and possibly earth.

 

[Yammi]

Yes the Security light had a sensor attached, and there is a light switch inside the house just for on/off.

What type is the security light now?
Sounds as if your switch had been wired up to send a permanent live/neutral to the sensor and an over ride switch live the light via the switch.
But to confirm we need a photograph of the rear of the switch with the conductors still attached - make sure circuit is dead before you do this.
I assume that your new lamp just requires live and neutral and possibly earth.[/quote

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Sorry about the quality taken with my phone. The new lamp does require live neutral and earth no more connections left. The casing of the light just push's on with two metal prongs making contact just below the three wired connections. Just wondering if I could just connect the three wires but tape the forth wire ( yellow ) up. sorry but my knowledge is very basic with Electrics. If you need more info I could take a photo of the Light itself.

Thanks again Phil.

 

[riveralt]

The problem is that you appear to have two reds and earth at the switch, which possibly means live and switch live and red, yellow, blue and earth (3 core and earth) at the lamp. As you say you need a live/neutral and earth at the lamp.
Do you know where the other end of the three core & Earth conductors are?
There is either a junction box somewhere or the the outside light cables are linked to another power source or another light.
As BAS says - its multimeter time.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Sorry if I've missed it -

Was the yellow wire connected on the old light?

 

[Yammi]

Sorry if I've missed it -

Was the yellow wire connected on the old light?

Yes the yellow wire was connected to the old light as there were six connectors on that one but only three on the new one.

 

[Yammi]

The problem is that you appear to have two reds and earth at the switch, which possibly means live and switch live and red, yellow, blue and earth (3 core and earth) at the lamp. As you say you need a live/neutral and earth at the lamp.
Do you know where the other end of the three core & Earth conductors are?
There is either a junction box somewhere or the the outside light cables are linked to another power source or another light.
As BAS says - its multimeter time.

As far as I can remember it was wired under the floorboards and sent down through the cavity. There are no wires showing any-where he did a very neat job.