Is this safe?

[Niels Pete]

I'm replacing a ceiling light in an old garage and this is the block I've extracted from behind the plasterboard. It did have insulation tape around it.

I'm now trying to work out where I attach the two wires I have for my new LED strip light. There are two strip lights and a single switch in the loop. Both lights come on when the switch is flicked.

I'm not good with electrics, as far as I'm concerned it's magic and all a but mysterious.

I know I must avoid reversing the poles or creating a live unit and I looked at the wiring diagrams but I'm concerned that this is unsafe and still trying to work out where to stick my lamp wires.

Any thoughts, would be very welcome.

Thanks

 

[terryplumb]

Those connections need to be made within a junction box ,and done properly.

 

[Niels Pete]

Yes. I was not happy with it. I'm thinking a ceiling rose junction box or J501 it will be attached to the exposed wooden beam and does not have to be concealed. Thanks.

 

[sparkwright]

To connect your new live and neutral for your new light.

You the see the two black wires on the LEFT of the photograph.
The TOP LEFT black appears to be NEUTRAL
The BOTTOM LEFT black appears to be the SWITCHED LIVE (should be sleeved red).

You can see the earths at the very top.

My only concern is one that one of those blacks has NOT been sleeved in red, and given the messy state of the wiring, it is possible those blacks COULD be reversed. It would still work, if that WAS the case, but the polarity would be wrong.

You just need to check if that bottom left black actually does go the light switch. It should do.

EDIT - red sleeving comment typo corrected.

 

[JohnW2]

My only concern is one that one of those blacks has been sleeved in red, and given the messy state of the wiring, it is possible those blacks COULD be reversed. It would still work, if that WAS the case, but the polarity would be wrong.

I must need a visit to SpecSavers, because I can't see any blacks sleeved in red!

However, of far more concern to me is that the bare CPC of the cable which ends up on the right appears to have been wrapped in (black) tape and is connected to the black conductor of one of the other cables.

Kind Regards, John

 

[terryplumb]

Take another look ,the black wrapped earth conductor isn't connected to another black conductor. It sits in the top terminal block with a bit of earth wire going nowhere.
More importantly the left hand cables earths are not connected to the right hand cables earth.

 

[sparkwright]

I must need a visit to SpecSavers, because I can't see any blacks sleeved in red!

However, of far more concern to me is that the bare CPC of the cable which ends up on the right appears to have been wrapped in (black) tape and is connected to the black conductor of one of the other cables.

Kind Regards, John

I must need a visit to SpecSavers, because I can't see any blacks sleeved in red!

However, of far more concern to me is that the bare CPC of the cable which ends up on the right appears to have been wrapped in (black) tape and is connected to the black conductor of one of the other cables.

Kind Regards, John

A TYPO - I meant has NOT been sleeved in red.

Can't make out the cable on the right, whether that is a bare earth wire wrapped in tape, and wrongly going to neutral, and vice versa.

 

[Niels Pete]

I can see it's a bit of a mess. I'll get a couple of junction boxes and work out where the wires come from and go to. There is just one more light at the other end of the garage.

I'm learning more about this and have some help coming next week when I'm getting my boiler replaced, but that's another leaky story.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[sparkwright]

The cable on the right presumably goes to the existing light.

Try and see what the black tape is doing, and check which wire is the bare copper wire.

 

[JohnW2]

A TYPO - I meant has NOT been sleeved in red.

Fair enough.

Can't make out the cable on the right, whether that is a bare earth wire wrapped in tape, and wrongly going to neutral, and vice versa.

The conductor wrapped in black tape and connected, via the block, to the black of one of the other cables surely must be the 'bare CPC', since the red and black conductors from that cable are both visible (and if it were 3C+E, they would not be red and black, not to mention the fact that the CPC would then be 'missing').

Kind Regards, John

 

[sparkwright]

The conductor wrapped in black tape and connected, via the block, to the black of one of the other cables surely must be the 'bare CPC', since the red and black conductors from that cable are both visible

Kind Regards, John

It does look that way yes - hopefully confirmation on it's way soon.

 

[JohnW2]

See my next post, agreeing that I misinterpreted the photo.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Take another look ,the black wrapped earth conductor isn't connected to another black conductor. It sits in the top terminal block with a bit of earth wire going nowhere.

You're right - I hadn't looked carefully enough - it';s the black conductor which is, for whatever reason, covered in black tape - and the CPC is (again for some reason) sleeved in black, but connected to an 'earth terminal of the block.

More importantly the left hand cables earths are not connected to the right hand cables earth.

True - that's very obvious as things currently are, but I presume that those two LH earths were originally connected to the RH one (which, as above, has black sleeving).

Kind Regards, John

 

[terryplumb]

The OP doesn't mention having disconnected anything ,so I assume the pic is as he found it. But only he can confirm this.
Although it's obvious to us ,it may not be to the OP ,who stated he thinks " its magic and a bit mysterious" !!
I can think of a few things I would call it ,but it ain't that !!!

 

[JohnW2]

The OP doesn't mention having disconnected anything ,so I assume the pic is as he found it. But only he can confirm this.

That's quite probably true - but one imagines that the 'floating' G?Ys were 'originally' connected to something (maybe became disconnected when OP was removing the tape from the block?)

Kind Regards, John