Aico alarm wiring instructions

[JohnW2]

I've justmade the mistake of looking at the instructions for one of my Aico alarms, and found this ....

I have no idea what's available in Ireland (so maybe they do have brown/blue/white cables there), but where, I wonder, do they think we are likely to find this hypothesised brown/blue/black cable in the UK?

 

[pete01]

Is that the colour coming out the load side of the connector block?....maybe

 

[JohnW2]

Is that the colour coming out the load side of the connector block?....maybe

Who knows - I can see no non-destructive manner of seeing what's on the load side! However, I think it's pretty clear that they are talking about the supply cable. On the actual thing, the L & N are correctly indicated as brown and blue respectively, but no colour is indicated for the interconnect terminal. It looks like this (with the connector block cover removed) ...

 

[AndyPRK]

It’s correct for the supply cable 2c+e

 

[JohnW2]

It’s correct for the supply cable 2c+e

What's 'correct' - the brown and blue for L & N?

If so, we obviously know that - the question relates to the third ('interconnect') core, which the instructions say should be white in Ireland and black in UK.

 

[trojanhawrs]

Definitely presumptuous, but in an ideal world the grey core has been sleeved blue and the table makes sense.

 

[flameport]

For the UK, 3&E flat with brown L, grey oversleeved blue for N, black as the interconnect.

I have no idea what's available in Ireland

Substantially the same as the UK, with the main variations being that their T&E has the CPC insulated green/yellow for the entire length and PVC insulated building wiring is not permitted.

 

[plugwash]

I recall reistard claiming that oversleeving a line-coloured conductor to use as a neutral was not permitted in the republic of ireland. If-so that would presumably mean a special cable type was needed.

 

[CountryFan]

Who knows - I can see no non-destructive manner of seeing what's on the load side! However, I think it's pretty clear that they are talking about the supply cable. On the actual thing, the L & N are correctly indicated as brown and blue respectively, but no colour is indicated for the interconnect terminal. It looks like this (with the connector block cover removed) ...

View attachment 401312

I see a white sticker and a black outline, reading that as universally available for either market.

 

[JohnW2]

Definitely presumptuous, but in an ideal world the grey core has been sleeved blue and the table makes sense.

Yes, I realise that one can do as they say by oversleeving - but that's not really the point, is it?

However, they say nothing about oversleeving, to my mind implying that a brown/blue/black cable is available in the UK, and I suspect that a lot of people reading these instructions probably know nothing of over-sleeving, anyway?

Is the 'interconnection' between alarms at LV or ELV? If the former, would the black not theoretically need to be over-sleeved with brown?

 

[pete01]

 

[JohnW2]

For the UK, 3&E flat with brown L, grey oversleeved blue for N, black as the interconnect.

Indeed - but see what I've just written in reply to trojanhaws ... and does this mean that the interconnect is ELV?

Substantially the same as the UK, with the main variations being that their T&E has the CPC insulated green/yellow for the entire length and PVC insulated building wiring is not permitted.

As plugwash has said, we've been told that over-sleeving is not permitted in Ireland. so what the instructions call for would require either a brown/blue/white cable to exist, or the use of singles.

 

[JohnW2]

View attachment 401331

My goodness - I wonder what they make that for, and how much they sell!

 

[pete01]

My goodness - I wonder what they make that for, and how much they sell!

For smoke alarms I think

 

[JohnW2]

I see a white sticker and a black outline, reading that as universally available for either market.

Fair enough but, if so, that's merely reflecting the table in the instructions - but doesn't answer my question of where one can find brown/blue/black or brown/blue/white cable (although pete has now found an example of the former