Lighting Ring Question.

[willtd]

Hi

I have taken down a lathe and plaster ceiling in my kitchen (vey messy job), and before I reboard it I though I would take the opportunity to rewire the lighting.

At the moment I have two lights with two light switches. Each switch controlled one bank ok lights. I have put a cross-over cable between the two so the switches work both lights.

Can I now put a junction box on the mains ring and split the feed to both lights, wire one of the switches to the junction box and just cross over from switch to switch to create the same effect?

How do I deal with the redunant mains link into the other light? can i wire another swith to this and take it to my undercupboard lights to control these lights?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[breezer]

lights are not run in a ring. have a look in the for reference section to see how it is done

 

[felix]

Boy do you need some help! If I read this right you are planning to (a) run a light straight off the ring main without any fuse in the line then (b) - and this takes the biscuit - cross connect the ring main with the lighting circuit! The only bit that sounds OK is your final idea of using the redundant lighting supply cable for a new light in your cupboard. Here goes:

1) You can run lights from the ring main but you must go through a fused connection unit. The ring main's 30/32 amp fuse/breaker in the consumer unit will not protect your 1mm lighting cable.

2) Do NOT, NOT, NOT cross connect this ring powered light with the other one. There's no point in doing so anyway.

3) If you decide not to use that open ended mains feed, follow it back to it's source and disconnect it there.

 

[willtd]

Hi

I think I have confused things here.

I have to lights on a lighting circuit, but i want to put a juction in to split the cable to both lights and have one switch to the junction box, the other switch will be connected directly to the other switch, I am not touching the mains at all, it was just my use of the word which has confused issues.

I can see one junction box at the moment which connects to a light switch and a light fitting, on the other light there is just one cable which runs to a light switch and a cable from the light switch running behind the plaster and back to the same junction box. Its very messy and I want to tidy it up be removing the wire from behind the wall.

Why one light has two cables into it and the other only one with two at the switch I do not know, but it is a very old house.

So, can I connect the existing junction to BOTH lights and one switch and connect the switchs to each other so the both control the lights.

Also, Can I connect underunit lights to the lighting ring from another junction box to the switch (each switch face will have two switches - one for the main lights and one for the under unit lights)?

 

[breezer]

as i said look in for refernce that is how it is done

 

[felix]

OK, I get it now. The answer is, yes you can do it but do you know how to wire up two way switches? You don't just connect them in parallel. The answer, as Breezer has pointed out, is in the reference section.