bathroom light

[rymatom]

hi there.
i have just put up a new bathroom light and it blew the fuse. the light has 2 sets of 2.5mm wires coming in to it through the ceiling. i presume one for the light and one for the switch. do i join the 2 blacks, the 2 reds and the 2 earths or is that what blew the fuse? should the wires be kept separate. the light itself has 1 live port, 1 neutral and 1 earth. i separated the 2 neutrals and only plugged one in. the light either stays on with the pull cord or the other way around it does not come on.
any suggestions.

 

[jj4091]

If you know which is the feed cable & which one is giong to the switch then the diagrams in the wikki will tell you how to connect them. I would have expected with what you describe that the 2 reds should be connected together in an insulated connector, the 2 earths in the earth terminal & the 2 blacks to the live & neutral of the fitting as one of the blacks is the live switch wire.

 

[Mikey_A]

The answer to your question lies here:

//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:lighting:rose

However, if you do not feel confident in performing the task then i'd consult a qualified electrician. When you dismantled at the ceiling rose did any of the the black/blue cores have any red/brown sleeving on? If not or if they have fell off and you do not know which is the switch cable then you will need a multimeter.

Edit: Aaahhhh too slow!!!

 

[rymatom]

so i join the 2 reds and put 1 black into the live connection on the new light
and the other black into the neutral on the new light. the 2 earths join together to the earth point.

 

[rymatom]

could someone please confirm that this is what i have to do.

join the 2 reds and put 1 black into the live connection on the new light
and the other black into the neutral on the new light. the 2 earths join together to the earth point.

 

[Steve]

Yes that is correct.

 

[Mikey_A]

Make sure you know which is the switch cable and mark it up with some red sleeving or red insulation tape.

 

[rymatom]

what will happen if i get the 2 black wires aroung the wrong way? will it just blow the fuse?

 

[fireman22]

no it wont blow the fuse but you may have live and neutral the wrong way round which can be even more dangerous if you are using edison screw lamps

 

[Steve]

Unless you're using screw-cap lamps, its normally not an issue. Most lamps are designed to work on reverse polarity.

 

[rymatom]

no it is not an edison bulb. it is a halogen G9 25W. is this ok?

 

[fireman22]

if you have a meter or even a neon screwdriver you could find out which of the blacks is the switched live. if you could look in the attic and follow on of your cables to the switch (if its a pull cord ) you could waggle this at the lighting point and a helper could tell you which cable then comes from the switch then the black of this cable goes to the live terminal of your fitting. hope that made sense

 

[rymatom]

yes, that makes perfect sense. thanks for everybodies help.