Help! 86yo FiL tried replacing lights and not confused on wiring.

[Jiminy H Cricket]

Need some advice please!

My 86yo father-in-law decided to replace his kitchen lights but he’s got himself in a muddle on the wiring and to be honest I’m not entirely sure how it originally went.

I’ve had the multimeter out and tested all the wires to see where they start and end and have drawn the following diagram.

Diagram

• Jiminy H Cricket
• 22 Jan 2021

Light 1 is controlled by Switch 1 & 2 and Light 2 is controlled by Switch 2 only.

Whats confusing me is he says the lives weren’t actually connected directly to the lights but rather just twisted together and it was the negative cables that were wired in to the light. On Light 1 it was a single negative wire and two twisted together. On Light 2 it was 1 wire and 3 twisted together. I’m not sure which is meant to go in the positive and which the negative on the lights themselves.

Light 2

• Jiminy H Cricket
• 22 Jan 2021

Light 1

• Jiminy H Cricket
• 22 Jan 2021

I don’t particularly want to call a sparky as he’s been self-isolating this whole time and it wouldn’t be worth the fight. However he’s on his own and now without working lights downstairs so he’s using candles, which doesn’t feel like the best idea.

Any help would be massively appreciated!

 

[terryplumb]

Have any switches had their wiring ammended / meddled with ?
The three red conductors connect together ,but do not connect to the light fitting.
One of the black conductors is the switched live ,the other blacks are neutrals.
You need to establish which black is the switched live ,that connects to the light fittings Live terminal. The neutrals connect to the fittings Neutral terminal .all earth conductors go together in the earth terminal of the light fitting ( if it has one )

 

[narkeybee]

The lives go to the switches, the lamps are across the neutral and the switched live,(usually a black or blue with a sleeve).so he is right the lamps arent connected to the lives in the rose,

 

[Jiminy H Cricket]

No, thankfully he hadn’t got into the switches so those wires are “correct”.

 

[Jiminy H Cricket]

Just wanted to thank you both for the help. Was able to pop round Dad's and get his lights sorted out quick enough.