New Wall Lights

[NotSoHandy999]

Hi,

I bought some wall lights to put up, but taking them out of the box, i see now that they have a long electrical cable with a plug at the end. The implication being that they're designed to be pluged into a normal wall socket.

However, since the lights i had just taken off were wired in properly, i have a small amount of cable sticking out of the wall where each light was, with a junction box at the end, waiting for a new light to be put up.

My question is : have i bought completely the wrong type of light?
Should I be considering cutting into the flex from my new lights and feeding the wires into the juction box from the wall?

If it's not already obvious, i'm quite clueless about all things DIY and electrical, so any help would be much appreciated

 

[securespark]

You need to post a piccy of your wall light point & another of the fitting you want to put up.

 

[NotSoHandy999]

I think i've managed to put them in my 'album' here:

http://www.diynot.com/network/notsohandy999/albums/2863


When i said 'junction box' earlier, i now think i meant 'terminal block'.. i meant the small plastic unit that lets you connect pairs of wires.

 

[ElectricDunc]

I would say it's possible to fit them but it won't be easy. It looks like they're designed to be plugged in rather then hard wired. I would suggest chopping a choc box in the wall to house your connections as it will also take any strain that could possibly be put on the flex going to the fitting. I know the cable is unlikely to get pulled when the fittings on the wall but if the possibility exists then it's still better to prevent it from happening.

This is what i would use behind the fitting. Personally i hate those sort of fittings. They claim to be double insulated but as far as i'm concerned they're made of metal and should be earthed. This current trend for double insulated metal light fittings IMO is potentially dangerous but what do i know.

 

[securespark]

OOI, do the instructions say anything about hard-wiring the fitting in?

 

[NotSoHandy999]

no, there is almost no text in the instructions, certainly nothing about hard-wiring

 

[securespark]

The trouble I see is that the unit is currently Class II (needs no earth connection).That is because of the way the fitting is constructed. It is called double insulated because there are two layers of insulation between any live parts and any metalwork. If you cut the lead and introduce some connections behind the metal plate, that may affect the double insulation rating.

 

[ElectricDunc]

The fitting could easily be earthed though the choc box i suggested would provide the additional insulation between the connections from the fixed installation to the fitting.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I think i've managed to put them in my 'album' here:

http://www.diynot.com/network/notsohandy999/albums/2863[/QUOTE]
Q: How did I know before I looked at the photos that it would be an Ikea product?

A: Nobody else would sell ****e like that.

 

[securespark]

That's very constructive, Ban. Now can you post something that might help the OP?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

OK.

I bought some wall lights to put up, but taking them out of the box, i see now that they have a long electrical cable with a plug at the end. The implication being that they're designed to be pluged into a normal wall socket.

Take them back, and buy non-****e lights from someone else.

Flex dangling down the wall, possibly at an angle - that's disgusting.

 

[NotSoHandy999]

lol.. thanks everyone - i took them back and got a refund.