lighting issue

[egan255]

Hello All

Loooking for some help in my electrics, i think they may have been done wrong from the start.

i had normal hang down lights when i moved in. i have started to change them but have run into some issues, can someone help?


i put a halogen light in the kitchen, this had 2 cables with 3 wires in each, i know one is the feed and one is the switch. I then put a fan light in the sitting room, same wires as before, but cant get lights and fan on at same time??? I wired them up like this

reds to the live in the unit
black - return from switch to the switched live on the unit
neutrals to the neutral on the unit
and earth to earth on the unit

but lights on = no fan
lights work on and off from the switch fine

Then Today i fiited the same fan light to the dining room (open plan) but found 4 wires from the ceiling?
i wired them up like this

reds to the live on the unit
black - return from switch to the switched live on the unit
neutrals to neutral on the unit
earths to earth on the units

this one works fine! lights on with the fan!


can i assume this???

that the light in the dining room has 4 sets of 3 because - it spurs off to the kitchen and sitting room? that would give me the 4 wires 1 from the consumer unit, 1 from the switch, 1 to the kitchen and 1 to the sitting room?

does this mean the sitting room has not got enough power to power both light and fan???

 

[HullMarc]

Quick question...does the fan work at all in the sitting room? My guess would be that it's faulty.

 

[swift2]

Hello Egan. I dont think you have an issue with power if the light is working, as Marc has said it could be a faulty fan. Why dont you swap the fans around, you know the dining room fan works, why dont you put that in the sitting room to see if it works with the lights on ??

 

[TicklyT]

If the fan runs when the light is switched off, could it be the fan is connected between the permanent and switched live to the switch, so the fan in series with the lamp?

If so, you might see the lamp glow faintly when the fan is on, and removing the light bulb(s) will stop the fan working.

If it does, it sounds like you have a bit of wire untangling and identifying to do.

 

[egan255]

If the fan runs when the light is switched off, could it be the fan is connected between the permanent and switched live to the switch, so the fan in series with the lamp?

If so, you might see the lamp glow faintly when the fan is on, and removing the light bulb(s) will stop the fan working.

If it does, it sounds like you have a bit of wire untangling and identifying to do.

YES!! this is correct, take the three bulbs out - no fan what so ever!!

How can i fix this???

 

[ban-all-sheds]

1. Learn how lighting circuits are wired.
2. If necessary use your multimeter to work out which conductors are which.
3. Rewire it so that the fan is not in series with the light.

 

[Risteard]

Oh dear...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm a completely unswerving adherent to the "give a man a fish etc..." principle.