old wiring - light fitting

[lozzy73]

Live in a flat with very old wiring. Electrician fitted lights some months ago except in small bedroom where he removed old light but left wiring free.

Have got around to buying a new light to go there. But am confused by wiring.

Wires hanging from light socket are red, black and blue.
Wires in the light switch are both red.

Terminals on light fitting are L, N, E and Blank.

Am not sure if:

Black and blue need to go together as N
Red and blue need to go together as L
Blue and red (if blue is live) need to go separately IE one L, the other in Blank.

Presumably I need to get a wire tester and see which are live wires hanging from the ceiling ???

Not sure how they correspond with the 2 wires in the light switch though.

I know that the other bedroom light is connected to the lights in the lounge. There are two lights in the hall and one light in the kitchen and one in the bathroom.

I really can't afford an electrician. If someone can advise I'd be grateful.

I guess I'm really asking if:

Do the two Live wires go together or should they be separate...and again, if there are two Neutrals do these go together or should they be separate? And if there are two Lives which must be separate, which one goes to the Live in the light fitting, and which one goes to the blank?


Many thanks, hope you can follow garbled question.

 

[fireman22]

has he left the wires bare or are they on blocks?
as if they are bare he may have disconnected them somewhere else

 

[lozzy73]

They are bare. They're not disconnected, he just separated them widely at the time. They should have had tape over them I guess but he separated them so they wouldn't touch.

 

[lozzy73]

Oh, forgot to mention that the light in the other bedroom doesn't have a blue wire but two black and two red. The two black are wired together, the two red are wired together.

I am presuming the red wire is the ring-system wire...maybe the blue is the switch wire??? Confused, don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[fireman22]

are you sure they are live then, did he tell you they were?

 

[fireman22]

the blue isnt green is it? you arent colour blind are you, not taking the mickey, but cant understand why you have a blue cable.
how many grey cables have you got coming out of the ceiling and is there a bare copper earth cable

 

[lozzy73]

The wires are connected, have not been disconnected so electricity is running through them (they are on a ring system too).

As to what each wire is, no, he didn't tell me or I'd be able to wire the light up. But my presumption is that the Red is Live as the Red appears in all the light switches.

Don't know what the black and blue are though..

 

[lozzy73]

the blue isnt green is it? you arent colour blind are you, not taking the mickey, but cant understand why you have a blue cable

No, I can't understand why there is a blue cable either. It is bright blue, don't worry I'm not colour blind but the other rooms don't have a blue cable.

In terms of layout of the flat, this room is closest to the meter cupboard, start of wiring. Next to it is the next bedroom with the two red, two black. Next to that is the lounge with two red, two black, next/opp to that is kitchen with red, black and yellow and next to that is bathroom (can't get to light to see what wires are in there.

 

[lozzy73]

Just three cables coming out of ceiling

1 red,
1 blue
1 black

 

[fireman22]

well if someone wired it and didnt have any earth cable they may have used a piece of blue cable as an earth, then it would be red live, black neutral & blue earth, but you will need to prove this before you connect it. will your electrician remember or call in to help??

 

[lozzy73]

The only light in the flat I can see with an earth is the kitchen (yellow wiring).

Electrician will only call in at £25 per half hour...

The light fitting itself is earthed as the casing is metal.

 

[fireman22]

the light fitting needs an earth you mean, it is therefore important you prove you have an earth maybe the blue. is there an attic above the light in question where you could follow the cable?

 

[lozzy73]

the light fitting needs an earth you mean, it is therefore important you prove you have an earth maybe the blue. is there an attic above the light in question where you could follow the cable?

No the light fitting has a green/yellow cable from the E junction to the metal bracket holding the light up. As said above, the only light in the flat which has an earth cable is the kitchen light.

 

[fireman22]

yes the light may have a green/yellow cable from the connector block to the metal casing but it needs an earth from your fuseboard for it to be earthed. if the casing became live current would flow down the green/yellow cable to the block but unless it is connected to an earth nothing would trip. in the other fittings where you have red & black wires is there a bare earth wire incorperated within the grey cable. your lighting may not have an earth, then you shouldn`t put up any metal fittings

 

[ColJack]

take a photo and post it so we can see what's what..
I'd also tell the sparky to get back there asap and fix the dangerous situation he's left for free or you'll call the police and report him for attempted murder ( well what do you call leaving unterminated live wires hanging out of a wall or ceiling? )