Safe to leave ceiling lights like this?

[Soong]

I have a ceiling light that I just took down. This is what it looks like underneath:

I don't really get what's going on here. Have they just not bothered removing the old rose so just left it in the void, broken in two, for the earth? And the new one just for the two wire feed.

The old light was metal but the earth wire didn't seem to go anywhere. I assume the new light (arriving today) will have an earth wire. Shouldn't it go to that earth wire in the broken rose?

And is all that rubbish safe to keep up there?

 

[terryplumb]

You need to get rid of the broken bits and re make all connections in a proper fashion into the new rose / light fitting. There looks like a loose wire that connects to the live terminal !!

 

[Taylortwocities]

No it is not safe, or correct. It looks like someone has used an old ceiling rose and stuffed it up into the ceiling void.
The connections should be inside an enclosure.

You need to (turn off the power first) and bring the cables down back into the room. Take a photo of what you are faced with before disconnecting anything. Remake the junction inside the new light fitting. If the light requires an earth then it must be earthed.

 

[chivers67]

Hopefully they reach. You may have to put them inside a maintenance free junction box if they don't extend long enough to do what TTC suggests. Can you access above just in case?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Hopefully they reach.

It's clear that they used to come through the ceiling enough to terminate onto the (original) ceiling rose. So I'd expect that the cables haven't 'shrunk' since then.
There's often and inch or two of slack up there too.

 

[Soong]

Thanks. I will take it all out. I have wago connectors that I assume will be good for tidying all that up?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Wagos are good, but the junction must either be inside an enclosure eg a Wagobox or inside the base of the light fitting itself.

 

[JohnW2]

Hopefully they reach. You may have to put them inside a maintenance free junction box if they don't extend long enough to do what TTC suggests. Can you access above just in case?

Indeed. As you imply, if the conductors won't reach the terminations in the new light fitting, access from above would probably be required - since if they would not reach the light fitting, they probably wouldn't reach far enough to connect them to an MF junction box 'from below'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[333rocky333]

. There looks like a loose wire that connects to the live terminal !!

That looks like the earth core to the old light, it looks like a 3 core clear flex.
Maybe it was connected and pulled out the Earth clamp

 

[333rocky333]

Indeed. As you imply, if the conductors won't reach the terminations in the new light fitting, access from above would probably be required - since if they would not reach the light fitting, they probably wouldn't reach far enough to connect them to an MF junction box 'from below'.

Kind Regards, John

Would it need to be MF, if accessible by removing the light, assuming the hole will remain, faced with a problem where they were tight would not a choc box with cable restraint be acceptable.

 

[rsgaz]

I agree rocky, I think terry has been tricked by the optical illusion. It looks to me like they go...



Otherwise the old lamp wouldn't have worked at all.

OP, show us the connections on the new lamp when you get it and how much space there is to play with inside its base.

 

[terryplumb]

Think your right rsgaz. Regards Terry

 

[JohnW2]

Would it need to be MF, if accessible by removing the light, assuming the hole will remain, faced with a problem where they were tight would not a choc box with cable restraint be acceptable.

Yes, all true (if the hole is to remain) - I shouldn't really have mentioned 'MF' (which had been in the message to which I was responding) . It obviously depends upon the design of the light fitting (i.e. where the terminals are), and how long the cable is, but it is still quite possible that if they will not reach the light fitting terminals, one might also struggle to connect them to any sort of 'JB' (including a 'choc block/box') which included cable restraint.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Taylortwocities]

I generally agree, but the spaghetti nest up in the ceiling void still needs dealing with.

 

[Soong]

I agree rocky, I think terry has been tricked by the optical illusion. It looks to me like they go...

View attachment 149792

Otherwise the old lamp wouldn't have worked at all.

OP, show us the connections on the new lamp when you get it and how much space there is to play with inside its base.

This is correct. Just my crappy photo being a bit misleading.

All sorted now. I managed to get the broken rose out and there was actually quite a bit to play with. The light that's replacing it ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01L99HC2Y/ ) has a slight void at the top that I thought about leaving all the Wago connectors in but I ended up putting them in a box (Wiska I think?) tucked up just above the light. Certainly better than how it was!

The light came with three wires each with a little choc-box equivalent attached but I just replaced the spaghetti mess with Wagos and removed the choc-boxes from the new light and wired them directly into the Wago connectors.

Hopefully that's ok?