Anyone seen this before?

EngStudent · 14 Mar 2012

Evening all.

The bathroom light in my (rented) flat has been a bit temperamental recently. Sometimes it'd work, sometimes it wouldn't. Tonight it wouldn't, so I decided to investigate. Here's what I found:

Yep, that is a screw fitting. Yep, those terminations aren't screwed - simply push the wire in and it's done. There are no markings on the fitting to try & ensure correct polarity.

Anyone ever seen anything like this before? I know you can get maintenance-free junction boxes, but didn't expect to see similar in a light fitting.

Guitarguy · 14 Mar 2012

Yeah seen them before, it just seems to have like a spring loaded terminal that puts pressure on the core to hold it in place. Don't like the look of them tbh

PrenticeBoyofDerry · 14 Mar 2012

Ikea special!

RF Lighting · 14 Mar 2012

Yep loads of manufacturers are using those now.

You can not contact any of the screw thread when the lamp is inserted so they are deemed as not being polarity sensitive, but I still like to keep centre live, which can be done by looking at which one is the centre and connecing live to it.

EngStudent · 15 Mar 2012

Thanks for the replies.

Didn't realise they were so common. Seems like a poor/lazy way to do it; fair enough they should be 'self-tightening' when they're in the holder, but obviously these had come loose.

Fitting has been replaced. Next job: Do something about the choc blocks for this light in the loft. Found them sitting there beneath the insulation.

Thanks again!

Lectrician · 15 Mar 2012

They are used everywhere, and are well known for become loose - they get hot, they cool, they get hot, they cool. Things move!

JohnW2 · 15 Mar 2012

EngStudent said:
Didn't realise they were so common. Seems like a poor/lazy way to do it; fair enough they should be 'self-tightening' when they're in the holder, but obviously these had come loose.

Interestingly, in the context of junction boxes, the IET now appear to believe that spring terminals like those are much more reliable than screwed ones, to the extent that JBs with such terminals are not required to be accessible for inspection and testing. Admittedly, JB terminals will not be subjected to anything like as much thermal cycling as in a lampholder.

Kind Regards, John.

Lectrician · 15 Mar 2012

Although they have stringent testing procedures in place for such joint boxes, and many on the market actually fail! There was an article about it somewhere...

JohnW2 · 15 Mar 2012

Lectrician said:
Although they have stringent testing procedures in place for such joint boxes, and many on the market actually fail! There was an article about it somewhere...

That doesn't surprise me, and I've certainly never felt comfortable about them (or any other sort of joint, apart from soldered/brazed) being inaccessible, whatever the IET may think!

Kind Regards, John.

17thman · 15 Mar 2012

we will have a wago connector discussion shortly

RF Lighting · 15 Mar 2012

And john is posting on this thread so it'll go on for days and days and days...

JohnW2 · 15 Mar 2012

17thman said:
we will have a wago connector discussion shortly

As I've said many times, I have no problem with spring connections, per se - they have been around for donkey's years in one form or another. What I'm not convinced of is that any type of joint/connection (other than soldered/brazed joints which are properly effected and properly protected from stresses) is so reliable (both short-term and long-term) that it is safe for it to be inaccessible - and, in particular, whether spring connectors really are so much better than screwed connections that they don't need to be accessible.

Kind Regards, John.

JohnW2 · 15 Mar 2012

RF Lighting said:
And john is posting on this thread so it'll go on for days and days and days...

Only if people start question and challenging my views/feelings. I've just summarised them in a couple of sentences and if no-one decides to argue with what I feel (and that all it is - aren't I allowed to have personal views/feelings, even if others disagree?), there will be nothing more for me to say

Kind Regards, John.

conny · 17 Mar 2012

Now then John, its been two days so I would like to challenge your views/feelings........

mikhailfaradayski · 17 Mar 2012

Lectrician said:
Although they have stringent testing procedures in place for such joint boxes, and many on the market actually fail! There was an article about it somewhere...

Now then, shall we put that statement down to urban myth, complete and utter billhooks or shall we see a link to the article? - I think I know the answer....

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Anyone seen this before?

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