Another home lighting question...

[dpm_dpmartin]

Hi,

I've got a conundrum and I'm looking for some help.

In my kitchen I have some accent lighting - this consists of 2 x GU10 bulbs in some glass cabinets and 3 of these kind of strip lights under the upper cupboards - all 5 lights are controlled, simple off-on, by a 1-way switch that's part of a 3-gang fitting.

The other day, all my kitchen accent lights stopped working. Everything else in the house works. All sockets, all other lights. I've taken a GU10 bulb out and replaced it with a working one - the kitchen lights don't work. I took the suspect GU10 I'd removed and it works in my bathroom!

So I thought I'd check my Consumer Board... on there they are tied to Downstairs Sockets as opposed to something like Downstairs Lights (this doesn't control these, I remember from some time ago) or Kitchen Lights (this doesn't exist) but Downstairs Sockets is flipped-up and all my sockets are working.

When I briefly looked at the wiring, what I think I am seeing is a wire coming out of a hole in the wall and into a junction box, this splits out into the 2 x GU10s - then, 1 of these strip lights joins onto 1 GU10 and 2 of the strip lights join onto the other GU10 one after the other. So, let me try to diagram this...

Wall - Wire - Junction Box - 1 x GU10 - 1 x Strip Light

|- 1 x GU10 - 1 x Strip Light - 1 x Strip Light​

Is there any way that I can, safely, start to figure out where something has gone wrong and fix it? I have a multimeter.

Is it normal for kitchen accent lights to be tied to the Consumer Board via Sockets? Is there going to be somewhere where I can find a socket that's providing power to these things? It's not in plain sight, that's for sure.

Thanks for reading, would really appreciate some insight from the forum.

 

[deadshort]

I would bet you have a Fuse connection unit hidden somewhere in the kitchen which has a blown 3a fuse, have a hunt …..

Regards,

DS

 

[oldbutnotdead]

There ought to be a fused spur or a 13A socket between your Downstairs Sockets circuit and your lights. Kitchen fitters do like to hide wiring and wiring accessories. Photos are always useful.....

If the hole in the wall is at floor level (below/behind a fitted cupboard) or at ceiling level (above a fitted cupboard) and there's a 13A socket above the worktop/below the cupboard then you'll probably find either a 13A socket or an FCU behind the unit below the socket/above the hole in the wall. Good odds the fuse in that will have failed due to (hopefully) old age.

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Thank you - the search is on...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Kitchen fitters do like to hide wiring and wiring accessories.

Behaviour no doubt at least partly informed by the attitude of people, some of whom pop up here from time to time, who simply will not accept that a kitchen is a place of work.

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

My predicament has been resolved. Thank you!

 

[Echo the husky]

My predicament has been resolved. Thank you!

Well are you going to tell us what it was??

 

[Taylortwocities]

Great, can you tell us how you fixed the problem. We do like to learn from others misfortunes!!

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

I wasn't going to, no.

I went searching and I found a switch instead of a fused spur... a switch in the darkest depths of a cupboard that was off. Why was it off I wondered to myself, so I asked, it turns out someone (not me, someone female) had also seen that switch a couple of days ago and had, in their expert opinion, figured that "it wasn't doing anything", so flicked it off!

That is it, in a nutshell.

I suppose I didn't even know about the switch, so something has been learned (by me).

 

[Iggifer]

I wasn't going to, no.
I went searching and I found a switch instead of a fused spur... a switch in the darkest depths of a cupboard that was off. Why was it off I wondered to myself, so I asked, it turns out someone (not me, someone female) had also seen that switch a couple of days ago and had, in their expert opinion, figured that "it wasn't doing anything", so flicked it off!

Don't feel bad, I went to fix a wired doorbell that wasn't working. Went and got a new transformer and everything. There was a switch for it right next to the fuseboard.......Obviously it was off

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I spent a few minutes the other morning cursing a kettle which wasn't working - lifted the jug on and off the base a few times, flicked the switch on the socket a few times.

All because it's a new kettle with a white flex and plug and I was looking at a socket with a black ditto in it.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

I wasn't going to, no.

I went searching and I found a switch instead of a fused spur... a switch in the darkest depths of a cupboard that was off. Why was it off I wondered to myself, so I asked, it turns out someone (not me, someone female) had also seen that switch a couple of days ago and had, in their expert opinion, figured that "it wasn't doing anything", so flicked it off!

That is it, in a nutshell.

I suppose I didn't even know about the switch, so something has been learned (by me).

You might want to think about replacing that switch with a switched fused spur at some stage- 'protecting' the skinny wiring on those striplights and GU10 things with a 30A fuse (or 32A MCB) isn't really a good idea.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I suppose I didn't even know about the switch, so something has been learned (by me).

You might want to think about replacing that switch with a switched fused spur at some stage- 'protecting' the skinny wiring on those striplights and GU10 things with a 30A fuse (or 32A MCB) isn't really a good idea.[/QUOTE]

That rather depends on what circuit the lights are fed from.
What you say is true if they are fed, for example, from a ring final (e.g. 32A circuit). But they may be fed from a lighting circuit or another circuit that has a fuse that IS suitable for the wiring used in the OP's lighting circuit.

 

[Iggifer]

The OP has rather implied they are fed from the downstairs sockets, but it sounds like this needs confirming 100% before anything needs doing.

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Hi all... I genuinely don't plan on doing anything else now the lights are 'working' again. I wasn't looking for a mini-project or anything, I just wanted to get beyond that little niggle. But, yes, on the Consumer Board "Downstairs Sockets" removes power from these lights, along with the downstairs sockets, of course.