rewire disaster helllp

[Hopelessparky]

extractor fan in bathroom currently wired to lights,all powered from single light switch for bathroom. can 3 core and earth going from lights junction in cieling to small extractor be cut/isolated and connected to new 2 core and earth?, if so which colours should be joined?..intention to reroute power via an independent spur switch to a socket through the wall in next room.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There's no real standard for which colour is used for which conductor in 3C+E cable, so if you do this you'll need to identify which is the permanent live and which is the neutral - they're the ones that you'll need to join to the T/E. It should be obvious which ones are which when you look at the ceiling rose.

BUT - why are you doing this? It's generally frowned on to have sockets on a lighting circuit - what do you plan to use it for?

Also, it'd be much better to replace the cable, rather than join it.

 

[AdamW]

Hopeless, I have read your post twice and think I know what you are getting at. Please let me know if I am right or wrong here:

Your extractor is currently powered from the lighting circuit, and is a timed model (it stays on for a time after you turn off the lights)

You wish to change this so it is powered from the ring main (thus rerouting to a socket), and has a separate isolator switch.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Now there's a thought - he might mean that, even though he wrote intention to reroute power... to a socket, and not from a socket.

I did wonder why he'd decided he didn't need the fan any more...

 

[AdamW]

Yes, I did notice the TO instead of a FROM... hence why it took a couple of goes to figure out what the post was getting at!

Hopefully he will reply and confirm his intentions.

 

[Hopelessparky]

Thanks for the replies, I disconnected the 3c & earth from the extractor unit (earth wasnt even connected just cut back!). I have run a new length of 2c & earth to a spur switch in bathroom cupboard, from there through wall into a socket in next room.

I have connected the new wire live and neutral in the terminal block in the front of the extractor (however, there is a thin 3c type yellow wire in the extractor terminal block also, which since removing the original 3c & earth now has nothing connected to it. (i noticed another twin and earth running from this terminal block also from the live and neutral, apparently powers my spa bath, as this stopped working when i switched off at the new spur.

anyway, extractor still doesnt work, anything to do with the yellow power wire at the terminal?, should i have run 3c & earth from extractor to the spur switch instead of twin & earth?

 

[ChrisRogers]

Thanks for the replies, I disconnected the 3c & earth from the extractor unit (earth wasnt even connected just cut back!). I have run a new length of 2c & earth to a spur switch in bathroom cupboard, from there through wall into a socket in next room.

I have connected the new wire live and neutral in the terminal block in the front of the extractor (however, there is a thin 3c type yellow wire in the extractor terminal block also, which since removing the original 3c & earth now has nothing connected to it. (i noticed another twin and earth running from this terminal block also from the live and neutral, apparently powers my spa bath, as this stopped working when i switched off at the new spur.

anyway, extractor still doesnt work, anything to do with the yellow power wire at the terminal?, should i have run 3c & earth from extractor to the spur switch instead of twin & earth?

and why the hell are you putting a socket on the lighting circuit?

 

[AdamW]

Hopeless, can you confirm this very important fact. Is the idea to:

A) Power the extractor fan via a spur, taken from an existing plug socket on the ring main.

OR

B) Power a socket from the cable that is powering the extractor.


This is a very crucial point, and seems to be causing some incredulity here!

Also, am I to understand that your spa bath is/was powered off the lighting circuit?

 

[pipme]

Perhaps the poster just wants to run the fan from it's own switch without dependence upon the light switch ?

P

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I think we should all stop trying to guess what Hopeless perhaps wants and wait for him to answer AdamW's concise question.

 

[Hopelessparky]

ok thanks for the replies, i guess there is real confusion here so i'll try to explain first what I have discovered as far as wiring goes in this electrical nightmare of a bathroom of mine (which was a conversion done 15 years ago).

I reckon the 'sparkies' who did the coversion were probbly pre school infants!!!

Now gents...pre changing anything at all....

The extractor (which doesnt have an auto run on after switching off), was wired to the 3 cieling spotlights (all 2c & earth) in the ceiling. The extractor had a 3c & earth going to it from where two of the spots were linked together to the main power cable, the other spotlight was/is other two, simply 2c & earth. i noticed the yellow cable is linked into where two reds are joined at a terminal block.

The lightswitch outside bath door operated the lights and extractor.

when i removed the cover on the front of the extractor, the wee block terminal inside had the unit's thin power wires going into the bottom of the terminal block (blue/red/yellow). On the top of the terminal block was the 3c & earth going away to the lights (all connected at ceiling with plastic terminal blocks). and also running out of the top of the block was a seperate 2c and Earth to the black and red ports. This I discovered ran power to the spa bath power unit which has an independent fuse cut off switch at the power unit situated behind the bath.

I have disconnected the old 3c & earth to the extractor, and ran a 2c & earth from it around the ceiling and into a towel cupboard in the opposite corner (bathroom is 12ft x 10 ft), the cable is fixed to 2x2 suspended wood framing which i am to reclad at a later date. I have run cable round and through into cupboard and down into a fixed 13amp fused spur switch unit, from there run down and out of the dividing wall and into a double socket on the other side. now i know the switch works cause the spa bath doesnt run if i switch this unit off.

I feel however, I should have replaced with 3c & earth at least from extractor to the new switch, because the thin yellow unit power wire at the extractor terminal has nothing to join it now?, hence no power to the unit???, and if so, where do i run the 3c & earth yellow wire to, within the switch unit in the cupboard?

cheers fellas, your the experts, im trying to make sense of what seems an orig f*** up!!!

Last question, when i replace the spots for proper 'bathroom' spots, can i run them on a dimmer?..the wife reckons it'll be romantic with the spa bath and all!!, mind you at this rate i'd be rather scared to hit the spa unit button after settling back wiv me bubbles and champagne and all that mad wiring!!!! I dont think 240 volts in water would be what the wife would have in mind!!!

 

[AdamW]

I will let a spark answer on your extractor, as I have no idea with these!

However your dimmer question: the easiest thing to use is one of these.

You can use a standard dimmer switch in bathroom zone 3 (I couldn't believe it when I first read it, but you can). However, even if your bathroom is big enough for this, it might make resale a problem as people wouldn't like to see it there.

Alternatively you can mount it outside your bathroom, although again this might make it less attractive. Personally, I hate bathrooms where the lightswitch is outside.