Problem with spur for ceiling lights

[Lookin4answers]

One minute the down lighters were working and the next, nothing ?

Have traced the wiring from the down lighters to the bedroom wall switch and from there to the wall switch in the hallway where I found not 2 but 3 cables containing black and red wires (assume that the 3rd set is acting as a spur to the wall switch in the bedroom) There was also another single black wire leading from the wall switch in the hallway which was solely connected to an old unused baxi boiler thermostat. I believe that the problem has occurred when I removed the unused thermostat and disconnected the single black wire ???

Can someone tell me how the wiring should look at the switch in the hallway which now contains 3 blacks and 3 reds only ???

Thanks

 

[Lookin4answers]

Have now traced the fault back to the disconnection of the unused thermostat and would like to know if it would be safe to reconnect the link between both of the black wires minus the thermostat with a standard plastic connector box ?

 

[Steve]

Woah there, hold on.

Why, oh why would the thermostat have ANY impact whatsoever on your lights? This is what I'm a little more worried about.

 

[Lookin4answers]

Difficult to say exactly as most of the ground work for this is being done from the loft but it looks as though both of the original grey wires that were connected to the thermostat stretch round towards the old baxi unit and a single black wire was connected from the light switch in the hallway to complete a circuit of some sort before and this light switch then leads another set of grey wires over to the the light switch in the bedroom / down lighters. All wires leading from the old baxi would appear to be dead ?

 

[fireman22]

are the lights that are not working mains or transformer fed? when you say traced down etc do you mean you are tracing it knowing it has no neutral or are you simply tracing the cable itself. can you reconnect whatever was disconnected at the thermostat position to prove or disprove the thermostat connection had any part in the circuit

 

[dannyboi2003]

Sounds like whoever installed the down lights ran the cables back to the switch then realised they didn't have a neutral, to get around this they have borrowed a neutral from the thermostat. This is very bad as the lights and thermostat are likely to be on different circuits, the lights should be properly re-wired. I'll let the pro's on here advise you further, my advice would be to call in an electrician or ask around if anyone knows a good electrician.

All the best
Dan

 

[Lookin4answers]

Thanks for the comeback !!!

The down lighters are mains fed and to me it does look as though the previous occupants have borrowed the neutral from the thermostat connection as this is the only wire from the set leading to the thermostat that still gives a response when tested with the switch in the hallway. I have tried to re-connect the switch using the neutral and by passing the now removed thermostat and the down lighters are working again.

Just need to know if this would be a safe measure to continue with or whether I should seek the assistance of a electrician ?

 

[fireman22]

are they in a bedroom if so can you get above and take a neutral from an adjacent light fitting?

 

[Lookin4answers]

Yeah pretty sure that would be possible, would it be best to try and take a live and neutral from the new light fitting and just discard the thermostat wiring altogether ?

 

[fireman22]

yes, if you could pick up a new supply you could start again so to speak.

 

[Lookin4answers]

Makes sense, thanks for you're time...