Lights flickering but not coming on

[Gazman16]

Hello all
Im new here. And was hoping to pick some brains.

I am renovating a bungalow and have knocked the toilet/bathroom into 1 room.
I had 2 light circuits so I have extended one into the centre of the room as the bathroom light and extended the other into the loft.
By extended I mean I have put them both into junction boxs because the wires were not long enough for the new locations.
Everthing worked fine for a couple of weeks but today neither would come on, They glow a little and flicker but dont fully come on (bathroom is a halogen fitting and loft is energy saving bulb).

All the other lights are fine. I have opened the junction boxs and given all the wires a tug to check they were tight. I also did some tests with my multimeter and I am only getting 170V.

Any ideas?

[echoes]

Sounds like you have wired the lamps in series.
Make sure that your switched live goes to the live terminals of both the lamp holders, and that the neutral goes to the neutral terminals of both lamp holders.

Don't understand why it would have worked for a couple of weeks though...

[pjcomp]

Check your light switches as well as the light fittings and junction boxes. Anything else happened in the room between them working and them stopping working? Such as plastering or tiling or decorating, anything that could have interfered with the installation.

PJ

[Taylortwocities]

I hope that those junction boxes are accessible - they have to be, and you are about to find out why

[Gazman16]

Taylortwocities wrote:

I hope that those junction boxes are accessible - they have to be, and you are about to find out why

Not easy but they are accessible. Right behind the loft hatch which is annoying.

Nothing has really been done in the rooms since I wired them up except for painting. I will check the wires tomorrow.

I have my sparky m8 coming round tomorrow to price up for a few other bits and bobs. Unfortunatly he knows that I did my city & guild in electrical installation (nearly 20 years ago ) so If I cant sort it before he turns up I will be getting some ribbing

[ban-all-sheds]

Gazman16 wrote:

I am renovating a bungalow and have knocked the toilet/bathroom into 1 room.

When you applied for Building Regulations approval, what did you say would be the way you'd comply with P1?

Gazman16 wrote:

I have my sparky m8 coming round tomorrow to price up for a few other bits and bobs. Unfortunatly he knows that I did my city & guild in electrical installation (nearly 20 years ago ) so If I cant sort it before he turns up I will be getting some ribbing

Once you or he has sorted it, could you post details of what the problem was? I think we're all curious to know how it could have been OK for a couple of weeks.

[Gazman16]

ban-all-sheds wrote:

Gazman16 wrote: I am renovating a bungalow and have knocked the toilet/bathroom into 1 room. When you applied for Building Regulations approval, what did you say would be the way you'd comply with P1? I interprate this as being non notifiable: (Even thought I will be getting my m8 to check over the whole property) Q5: What types of electrical work are 'non-notifiable'? The following types of work are non-notifiable: Replacing accessories such as socket-outlets, control switches and ceiling roses Replacing the cable for a single circuit only, where damaged, for example, by fire, rodent or impact (1) Re-fixing or replacing the enclosures of existing installation components (2) Providing mechanical protection to existing fixed installations (3) Installing or upgrading main or supplementary equipotential bonding (4) Work that is not in a kitchen or special location and does not involve a special installation (5) and consists of: - adding lighting points (light fittings and switches) to an existing circuit (6) - adding socket-outlets and fused spurs to an existing ring or radial circuit (6) Gazman16 wrote: I have my sparky m8 coming round tomorrow to price up for a few other bits and bobs. Unfortunatly he knows that I did my city & guild in electrical installation (nearly 20 years ago ) so If I cant sort it before he turns up I will be getting some ribbing Once you or he has sorted it, could you post details of what the problem was? I think we're all curious to know how it could have been OK for a couple of weeks.

Will do

[riveralt]

Re - read what you have written and I think you will find that the bathroom is a special location and therefore the work you describe is notifiable whether your 'm8' does it or not.

[Gazman16]

Is a whole bathroom considered a special zone then? As Im well away from zones 1 & 2. Let me know and I will bare it in mind for future projects.

I double and tripple checked the wireing and it was perfect apart from not being very tidy, So I dismantled both junction boxs and moved them to an easyer location to work on.
I identified all the wires and tidyed them up, Then rewired again exactly copying a wireing diagram and I still have the same problem.

I went around the house turning all the other lights on and off and noticed that the hallway light wasnt working. It turns out that the plasterer had sliced some cables with his trowel.

I have cut back past the damage and rewired it but Im not picking up any power at this light? It is a two way light and I have 2 twin & earth cables coming through the ceiling? One apears to be a feed from the lights that I am having trouble with and the other a switch wire.
Is it posible that by short circuiting the wires with his trowel that it has burnt through somewhere else?

Sparky didnt turn up (again) So I guess Im going back up in the loft today then

[Gazman16]

All fixed now
It was a loose nutral feed in the ceiling rose in another room

Sparky finally turned up today. I left all junction boxs, switchs and fixing open and hes happy with it all and for me to carry on with the other bits and bobs.

I have to say I remeber now why I gave up the sparky game 20 years ago. Its a fiddly bloody job in the most unconfertable of places. Big respect to all you guys that stuck with it.

[electronicsuk]

Glad to hear you got it sorted.