External Lights->junction box??

[Harden Long]

Hi

I have just bought a few new replacement external lights to replace some smashed and corroded old ones.

These are the ones I bought:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...tern_Index/Halogen_Garden_Lighting/index.html


Problem is, I cannot get them wired up

There are 2 wires leading off the new lights I've bought
These presumably need to be screwed into a junction box to join up with 2 wires that also feed into a junction box from the mains supply

I cannot find a small external/waterproof box ANYWHERE

Can anyone advise?

 

[breezer]

just as well you didbt. the lights you have linked to are 12v, you said

.............There are 2 wires leading off the new lights I've bought
These presumably need to be screwed into a junction box to join up with 2 wires that also feed into a junction box from the mains supply

The picture you linked to also shows a press / clamp connector , no Jb required

But then have you the transformer?

oh and TLC do supply suitable boxes, but I will not give the exact link as i want to confirm the existing lights supply voltage ( i dont want to see you turn up here with a black face like they do int the cartoons)

 

[Harden Long]

breezer-that press/clamp connector sounds like it is the thing

I managed to prise the cover off of one so that I could take it into city electrical or similar to show them

It is a small black box with the thicker cable running along the top and 2 gold coloured metal connectors with small phillips screws

The thicker cable at the top is sheathed - i.e there is no wire contact

I should also say I am NOT now going to attempt to re-wire them, I have a sparky coming to do it-I would like to be able to buy the connectors so that they are in place for him coming

 

[breezer]

i still need to know the light supply voltage.

the press on connector is in the picture YOU linked to

post a pic of what you have

 

[Harden Long]

Okay at this point I have to fess up my ignorance/stupidity

I bought the lights from tlc because they looked similar to the ones that were already in the garden along the footpath and which are smashed/corroded


I assumed a sparky would soon tell me whether these lights I bought were okay-at the very least I assumed, I'd only lose 28 quid !

 

[breezer]

still need to know the voltage, post a pic of old lights, or take a lamp out and see what the lamp says on it

pic postting stuff is in forum info.

you have an hour, i am off to watch mythbusters

 

[Harden Long]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10900481@N06/?saved=1

rubbish photo but I hope you get the idea

the existing old lights say "input 12v -20w max"

The new lights I bought are code GLH2A as shown at the top of the page here
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...tern_Index/Halogen_Garden_Lighting/index.html


Finally, I am wanting to add two or three more lights further along the path-is this relatively easy to do (the mains cable is fairly near the surface of the path under loose chippings only)

 

[breezer]

please stop saying mains cable- its not carrying mains.

as i said the lights from tlc have clamp connectors so should connect to the existing cable

BUT if they dont / wont fit, you can use these you should aslo use galands to do the job properly

as for extra lights that depends on the transformer rating.

say for example it says 100watt output

100 / 20 = 5

so you can have 5, 20watt lamps maximum

oh, if its of any use, its not un common for clamp connectors to fail like this, since although meant for outside selv use they still corrode

 

[Harden Long]

sorry to be thick, and thanks for your patience, but where it is likely that I would find the transformer to check it??

also what is a galand ??

 

[breezer]

a galand is a gland with an extra "A" (sorry it was a typo ) they are on the same page as the boxes.

The transformer will be on the cable you have that is slightly burried.
probability suggests it will be at the house end.

a transformer, transforms the mains 230v ac to 12v ac (in your case)
it will probably look like a large black lump that may or may not be plugged in, it may be a weatherproof one so it may be outside, but it will have one cable going in, and one cable going out, the outgoing one is the one which you say is slightly burried

using the link you first provided

the transformer in this case is the black lump that has a cable with the mains plug on it (transformer is top left) see, its a black lump

 

[Harden Long]

Thanks again
Tomorrows task is to locate the black lump !

Interstingly enough the product that I received does not have the press clamp connectors attached to them as shown in your picture above but a small V shaped plastic widget

I wonder if I need to get onto them?

 

[breezer]

Tomorrows task is to locate the black lump !

Interstingly enough the product that I received does not have the press clamp connectors attached to them as shown in your picture above but a small V shaped plastic widget

I wonder if I need to get onto them?

v shapped plastic widget = differnt brand of clamp / connector, from what you have said it sounds like a diffent brand of light.

if it doesnt fit go the jb method or buy the remainder of the set (starter kit) and change the lot (keep the lamps)

Its pointless asking tlc (or where you got them from) as what can they do? other than suggest you get a complete new set



oh, and the kit is designed so that it can be plugged in and no electrican required