Problem with celing light.

[Swsh]

Hoping someone can help me here.

I have got a new light and a dimmer switch for my son’s bedroom.
I fitted the dimmer switch fine and it was working.

I then moved onto fitting his new ceiling light, only problem is it keeps tripping out the 5v fuse.

If I have the light upstairs turned on while I turn the mains power on the light will light up fine. But if I use the switch to turn this off it trips the fuse. It will also trip the fuse if I turn on mains power when the light switch is on the off position.

Any idea why this is happening?

I tried changing the back from the dimmer switch to the old normal switch but no luck.
I was thinking possibly I need a new low voltage light switch but thought id would seek advice before going out to buy another one.

Thanks,

S~

 

[Spark123]

Sounds like you have done this:
//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:blackswlive
You've probably killed the dimmer switch if you have

 

[Swsh]

Sounds like you have done this:
//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:blackswlive
You've probably killed the dimmer switch if you have

Spark,

That sounds about right. Should have checked up before I went ahead. Thankfully nothing other than a blown fuse happened.

I have all 3 black wires in the one socket.

I will go out tomorrow and buy multimeter and a new dimmer switch.

Just to clarify, I know I need to find the black wire that connects to the switch.
After that there are 2 options.
My new light fitting has 3 terminals to connect wires too. I think I have to do one of the following:

1. Connect the 4 live wires in the L terminal, 2 neutrals in the N terminal and the 3 earth wires to the E terminal.

Or

2. Connect 3 live wires in the L terminal, 1 neutral in the N terminal and the 3 earth wires to the E terminal. Then connect the other 2 black wires together?

Can you confirm, if any of these options I should do.

Thanks,

S~

 

[Spark123]

You need to look at the diagram on the page I linked to. The 3 permanent live connections connect together and to nothing else. The 2 neutrals connect to the N terminal. The black with red sleeve (switched live) connects to the L terminal. The 3 earths all connect to the earth terminal. If you do not have enough terminals you will need to buy a piece of terminal block and house it in the fitting.

 

[Swsh]

Spark,

I really appreciate your advice, it has so far been invaluable and I have learned allot. I have just recently moved in to my house and have lots of lights to fit.

Just one more question though. Will I have to buy a terminal block for each of my lights that I fit? Will connecting 3 of the live terminal wires and taping them with electrical tape do the trick or are terminal blocks the only way to go.
Please bear in mind that I am fitting this into my son’s bedroom. So if electrical tape poses the slightest bit of danger then the terminal blocks are the way I will go.

Regards,

S~

 

[JACKC]

do not use tape to join cable together, it will work loose, the cables will arc and a small fire will burn your house down. Use terminal block rate for the lighting circuit mcb. Usually 6 amps for a lighting circuit but never assume, check.

 

[Spark123]

Agree with that - do the job properly. A strip of terminal block is about the same price of a roll of insulation tape anyway!