Fitting a Fluorescent Strip light

[gemma]

Am about to fit new Fluorescent strip light to kitchen ceiling which has very old wiring.

The old wiring which is still attached to old pendant has 3 red wires all fed thro' one port (?), 2 black wires - 1 of which has a narrow piece of red tape around it - fed thro' another port, 1 single black wire fed thro' the last port and 3 green earths crimped together and tucked back.

The instructions for the strip light are very vague and don't mention wire colours. In the unit the blue/white wire is fed into Mains for Light Switch box, red/white wire fed thro' same as well as Live port, black/white wire is fed thro' Neutral and lastly its Earth port states that it must be earthed.

Finally, when I switched power back on again after removing the rose, the kitchen, bathroom and hall lights have blown! What do I do about that.

Please help!!

 

[Qedelec]

You need to connect the black with red tape to blue/white the two blacks to black/white and the earths are obvious.

 

[gemma]

Can't thank you enough. You should be on the National Health!

I'm pushing my luck here but you couldn't shine any light, so to speak, on why the hall, kitchen and bathroom lights all fused when I switched power back on. They are all in very close proximity.

Thanks again.

G

 

[Adam_151]

Did they actually fuse? (in terms of the fuse or breaker cutting the power) or just stop working?

The former would be caused by a short circuit, and the latter would be casused by the loop out (see for reference section at the top of this forum) being disconencted, meaning that the power to any lights further on the circuit being disconnected

 

[Qedelec]

Consider the light shed!

you wired the switch across the supply i.e. red from switch to red in & out (live) and black with red tape to black in & out (neutral).
Press the switch and hey presto! dead short across the supply, fuse blows.

Not sure how much longer I can afford the time for the forum now I have my NICEIC FULL Registration.
Take care now and don't have nightmares.

 

[gemma]

Have checked the fuse box - nothing blown. Have checked the lights bulbs in other sockets - they're OK, too.

Could you advise me what to do now.

As mentioned earlier these 3 lights are in close proximity to one another but why did they all fail when I simply turned the power back on? I hadn't done any electrical work at all and there have been the occasional power cuts in my building over the years and nothing was affected when the power returned.

Any ideas!

G

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I hadn't done any electrical work at all

Finally, when I switched power back on again after removing the rose

 

[gemma]

Apologies I reposted this in error!

 

[gemma]

The old wiring which is still attached to old pendant

[/list]

 

[gemma]

Thanks for everyone's help so far especially re the colour matching.

Is there any further advice you could give me about the three lights that stopped working as soon as I put the power back on. Calling in an electrician is not an option at the moment.

Much obliged again

Gemma

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Something must have broken or come loose or come out when you fiddled with the ceiling rose.

Take it down again, and check - if necessary use your multimeter to verify the continuity of the loop from one rose to the next.

 

[johnny_t]

The three lights that stopped working are probably 'after' the light that you replaced in the circuit.

If they have simply never come on again after you fitted the new light, and the new light works, I'd check inside your new fitting again. You'll probably find that either the Live or the Neutral to further on in the circuit has popped out of its bit of connector block, or you have screwed down onto the wire insulation by mistake....

 

[gemma]

Hi again

Sorry guys but, kitchen light is working after all. I assumed wrongly that it wasn't - simply because the other two weren't (and still aren't). Still can't work out why they aren't working.

Qedelec Wrote:

You need to connect the black with red tape to blue/white the two blacks to black/white and the earths are obvious.

The blue/white wire in the new strip light unit doesn't have any room at the other side of the 'block' to take the black/red taped wire. It is fitted snug against the Mains for Light Switch box. I can't see anywhere else it could go! Also what do I do with the 3 red wires?

Don't know where you all get the patience from!

G

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Look in the For Reference section for diagrams showing what all the wires at a ceiling rose do, and how they link from one to the next....