no supply earth and mounting box too small

[stephenc979]

im new here so hi everyone
i am just finished decorating my daughters bedroom and bought a chrome 3 bulb spotlight and chrome dimmer switch to finish it off

the dimmer is wired up and works fine but i cant push it back into the mounting box, the instructions say the box needs to be 10mm below wall level and its about double that, is there anything i can do?

Also the old light has no supply earth and with the new fitting it is all handy to wire up but the instructions say a supply earth is to go to one of the teeminals, what can i do?

Thanks in advance, stephen

 

[ricicle]

If the new fitting requires an earth and your lighting circuit does not have one then you cannot fit the light. Also if the switch is metallic then that cannot be fitted either !

 

[londonboy]

You need a deep box behind the dimmer, 35mm. You can (just) change these without damaging decorating.

You need to remove the chrome light fitting and replace it with a plastic (double insulated) fitting, and save up for a rewire.

 

[Chri5]

the instructions say the box needs to be 10mm below wall level and its about double that, is there anything i can do?

http://www.aceonline.co.uk/index.asp?cg=10&InBox=Outlet accessories&cct=10&prodref=SWS01


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[stephenc979]

nightmare is there no way of getting a supply earth in, also there is an earth on the switch, can i still use that

 

[flameport]

also there is an earth on the switch, can i still use that

If it is actually connected to earth, then yes.

As there is no earth at the light fitting, it probably isn't connected.

 

[londonboy]

Do you have a multimeter?

 

[stephenc979]

it is a bare wire screwed into the mounting plate how do i test if its connected, cant see why it would be there and not connected but then again im no spark lol

 

[cumbriahandyman]

the instructions say the box needs to be 10mm below wall level and its about double that, is there anything i can do?

http://www.aceonline.co.uk/index.asp?cg=10&InBox=Outlet accessories&cct=10&prodref=SWS01

Did you mean:
http://www.aceonline.co.uk/index.asp?cg=10&InBox=Outletaccessories&cct=10&prodref=SWS01

(spacer frame for single box)

 

[stephenc979]

it is a bare wire screwed into the mounting plate how do i test if its connected, cant see why it would be there and not connected but then again im no spark lol

 

[stephenc979]

i can get my hands on a multimeter

 

[Chri5]

Use some wire as a roving lead and put one end on the MET the other end on a probe, if the earth is connected at the switch plate, back box or anywhere else you will get a continuity reading. Some read in ohms others can be set to bleep or buzz.

Simple logic being that you have made a loop on the earth path.

Earth MET--- lead--- meter-----lead ---- earth.

In ohms expect the earth to give a reading in single ohm digits, 1 is a nice number.

If the meter is a decent one, check the lead 1st and take that figure from the one on test. So lead measurement less full measurement = true reading earth back to source.

 

[sparkwright]

You should take a closer look for earth wire(s) at the light. It could have been pushed into the ceiling void. Or maybe the wiring has been extended in the past, and there may be a junction box in the loft where the earths terminate.

Either way, you must ensure you have a good earth connection to fit any of these accessories.