Hi I have just fitted a new gu10 light for a friend. This was fitted to the old wiring by that i mean the black \\\"N\\\" Cable from the switch is the live one. I found the live from the switch & connected this to the \\\"L\\\" on the light the 2 black \\\"N\\\" to the N side and the 3 red wire\\\'s one of them alway\\\'s live together. All was well but when you switch on the hall lights the kitchen gu10 lights come on dim.Can anyone help.
old wiring
- Thread starter alona10
- Start date
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whats with the ///N/// stuff?
More information might help: Did anyone do anything to the hall ceiling fitting or switch? even just take it apart to look at it?
I think you said that flicking the kitchen switch turns the new kitchen light on and off properly? You just replaced one existing kitchen light with one new one? No new wires involved?
Then, with kitchen light off you turned on hall light and kitchen light came on dim? What did hall light do?
Normally lights coming on dim means that you have wired two or more in series instead of parallel. I do not quite see how the hall became involved in this.
The wires in the kitchen ceiling should be power in, power out and one to switch. Your description sounded ok.
More information might help: Did anyone do anything to the hall ceiling fitting or switch? even just take it apart to look at it?
I think you said that flicking the kitchen switch turns the new kitchen light on and off properly? You just replaced one existing kitchen light with one new one? No new wires involved?
Then, with kitchen light off you turned on hall light and kitchen light came on dim? What did hall light do?
Normally lights coming on dim means that you have wired two or more in series instead of parallel. I do not quite see how the hall became involved in this.
The wires in the kitchen ceiling should be power in, power out and one to switch. Your description sounded ok.
getting the switch cable in your GU10 muddled up will cause every light looped after yours to run in series with your GU10.
The wiring doesnt sound old to me, general practise actually - still done like that today.
One of the reds will go to the switch, and back upto the GU10 ///L/// (lol). Use a multimeter to ensure you get the correct black to this terminal!!!
The wiring doesnt sound old to me, general practise actually - still done like that today.
One of the reds will go to the switch, and back upto the GU10 ///L/// (lol). Use a multimeter to ensure you get the correct black to this terminal!!!
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Right, I'm with you lec. If the neutral on to the hall lamp is now twinned with the black from the switch, this either sends live on to the hall instead of neutral, or connects the hall to neutral but through the kitchen lamp.
The kitchen lamp will work properly if the hall is off, or will come on dim if the kitchen switch is off but hall on.
Alona, if I have it right, you have the wrong two black wires together.
One of the other possible pairings is correct, and the other shorts live and neutral when the switch is on.
Make sure which is which before you put it back together. The black return from the kitchen switch should only be connected to the lamp, and nothing else.
The kitchen lamp will work properly if the hall is off, or will come on dim if the kitchen switch is off but hall on.
Alona, if I have it right, you have the wrong two black wires together.
One of the other possible pairings is correct, and the other shorts live and neutral when the switch is on.
Make sure which is which before you put it back together. The black return from the kitchen switch should only be connected to the lamp, and nothing else.
None of any of the wires were marked, that's why you should have made a note of what goes where before taking things off.alona10 said:
Also, that fact that you said "black "N" Cable from the switch is the live one" means that you don't realise that in lighting circuits it is extremely common for the switched live to be black - black does not always mean neutral, and thinking that it does can result in blown fuses/tripped MCBs. The fact that you ended up with lights in series means that you don't know how lighting circuits are wired at all.
Have a look at the diagrams in the For Reference section...
but he could of wrote down.... ( N=brown, B=black, U=blue and R=red)
= = ---- = = = ---- = = =
N B ---- R R R ---- B B U
so when it comes down to goin back to the original, which is the black that goes with the brown and which with the blue?!
= = ---- = = = ---- = = =
N B ---- R R R ---- B B U
so when it comes down to goin back to the original, which is the black that goes with the brown and which with the blue?!
Yes he could have done that, but that would mean that he thought all the blacks were interchangeable; more evidence that he's ignorant.
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