Lighting circuit down after a switch off

[Dundee_Stokie]

Hi, I have just painted a room and had turned the lighting trip switches off whilst I tackled the rooms light switch, when I turned them back on at the mains unit, the kitchen and en suite bathroom didn't come back on. Is this a blown fuse? I wasn't even anywhere near these two rooms, the room I was in came back on fine.

I live in a bungalow and there are two lighting circuits.

 

[riveralt]

Hi, I have just painted a room and had turned the lighting trip switches off whilst I tackled the rooms light switch, when I turned them back on at the mains unit, the kitchen and en suite bathroom didn't come back on. Is this a blown fuse? I wasn't even anywhere near these two rooms, the room I was in came back on fine.

I live in a bungalow and there are two lighting circuits.

Trip switches and blown fuses don't quite mix - or are you talking about wall plate switches?
Do you have MCB's or fuses?
Do you have RCD protection?

Did you move/remove any of the switches/ceiling roses you were painting around?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If you have some lights on and some lights off, sounds like you have disturbed the loop connections. That's if all these lights are protected by the same MCB/fuse?
What cables do you have at the switches that you have removed to paint?
Could be either a phase red or brown or even maybe a neutral black or blue that has become loose or disconnected.
If you are unsure what an RCD is, do you have anything on the board with a test button?

 

[Dundee_Stokie]

What are MCBs and RCD protectors?

I unscrewed a wall switch so I could paint around it, whilst fiddling with it, two wires popped out of the terminal so I went straight for the mains unit to knock the lighting off, thus becoming safe to work in the environment. I then did my artists work around the wall plate then popped the wires back into the terminal. Could this have caused an issue elsewhere?

 

[riveralt]

What are MCBs and RCD protectors?

One protects your cables - the other protects your life.

I unscrewed a wall switch so I could paint around it, whilst fiddling with it, two wires popped out of the terminal so I went straight for the mains unit to knock the lighting off, thus becoming safe to work in the environment. I then did my artists work around the wall plate then popped the wires back into the terminal. Could this have caused an issue elsewhere?

I will assume that last bit is a typo and you replaced the conductors back into the terminal(s).
Does the light that this switch controls still operate?

 

[Dundee_Stokie]

Yes, sorry I wired them back into the terminals. Yes the light worked again, it's other rooms that now don't!

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

RCD

Untitled

• PrenticeBoyofDerry
• 29 Jul 2009
• 13

MCB

Untitled

• PrenticeBoyofDerry
• 11 Mar 2012
• 1

It is likely you have either reconnected cables incorrectly or a cable is not secure within terminal. Sounds like you have disturbed the continuity of the loop!

I guess it was either a pair of reds or a pair of brown cables.
Can you upload picture of the terminals and cables?

 

[riveralt]

Yes, sorry I wired them back into the terminals. Yes the light worked again, it's other rooms that now don't!

Radial lighting circuits normally operate by running power from the fuse to each of the ceiling roses - then a switch wire is taken from the ceiling rose down to the switch and then back up to the light.
So provided there were just two conductors plus the earth at the switch and you have put the conductors back in the right terminals this should not have caused the blackout. If there are more than two conductors at the switch then this could be the issue.
BTW you haven't said whether you have MCB's or a wired fuse and if it is a wired fuse have you checked that the fuse has not blown.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

This does sound like the lights are looped in at the switches, otherwise it should not effect the rest of the circuit!
So I would assume that more than one pair will be found at the switch?

 

[Dundee_Stokie]

Heres the wall switch in question:

And the Mains Unit:

 

[RF Lighting]

Have you got each red wire into a seperate terminal there?

 

[riveralt]

Two of those reds need to go in the common (~) they are the loop to the next set of lights the other one goes into L1
The problem is do you know which ones are which?

You will need a multimeter to test out which are which.

At a very very wild guess the two painted ones look as if they were together - but that is a dimmer switch and you could very well end up damaging it if you have got the wrong conductors in the wrong terminal.

 

[sparkwright]

That switch has three terminals, but only two must be used in this case.

The terminal with the X looking symbol will be one terminal.

L1 will probably be the other one. Your photo is not very clear, so you may be able to confirm this for us.

The live wire which goes to the light goes on one side of the switch. The remaining two 'feed' live wires go the other side of the switch.

The terminal markings on dimmer switches vary a lot, but I'm fairly sure usually the live to the light goes to X, and the remaining two lives go to the L1.

As you know where some of the wires went before you may be able to work the rest out for yourself.

 

[Dundee_Stokie]

Well, I now have the whole thing off the wall, one wire came away from its terminal so I took the damn thing off.

Im back to square one now.

 

[sparkwright]

Did any of those wires have a bare end that was 'doubled over'?

If so, that USUALLY indicates that wire goes in a terminal on it's own.

You haven't answered any of the questions asked since you sent the photos.