Under-cupboard lights in kitchen: making safe

[Cigaro]

Hi,

I've discovered something I don't like very much in my kitchen. I have some undercupboard lights connected to the lighting circuit through a normal light switch. The connection between the light and the switch is in tiny, tiny white flex (0.75mm at a guess?) and I don't fancy its chances much if there was a fault - I think the flex is so thin that it would probably act as a fuse before the MCB popped. The lighting circuit is on a 5 amp MCB (yes, 5 amp - they're old Wylex ones) so with the prospective fault current there I think this little cable could actually be a fire risk.

Firstly, am I right in thinking this is dangerous?

Secondly, the way I see it I have two options:

a) the best one - disconnect the flex, spur a 2.5mm off from the adjacent socket to a 3A fused FCU and take the lights off that, or
b) disconnect them altogether.

Am I right in thinking that the first would be notifiable work, despite being a very small change?

What about the second?

I know it may seem like I'm worrying about nothing but I know the fault current could be in the tens of amps and I don't like the idea of an unprotected piece of thin flex carrying that.

 

[slup]

There's nothing wrong with short lengths of 0.75mm flex on a circuit protected by a 5A MCB.

 

[Cigaro]

Oh right, that's OK then. Cheers

 

[Taylortwocities]

There's nothing wrong with short lengths of 0.75mm flex on a circuit protected by a 5A MCB.

That is assuming it is 0.75mm². How did you measure the csa.

Post a picture se we can have a laugh. (I mean make constructive comments)

 

[JohnW2]

There's nothing wrong with short lengths of 0.75mm flex on a circuit protected by a 5A MCB.

If the OP is actually talking about 0.75mm² flex, there's actually nothing theoretically wrong in having long lengths of it protected by a 5A MCB, since its CCC is 6A.

However, I would not personally describe 0.75mm² flex as 'tiny' - so, like TTC, I wonder what the OP is measuring, and whether it really is anything like as large as 0.75mm².

Kind Regards, John.

 

[Monkeh]

There's nothing wrong with short lengths of 0.75mm flex on a circuit protected by a 5A MCB.

If the OP is actually talking about 0.75mm² flex, there's actually nothing theoretically wrong in having long lengths of it protected by a 5A MCB, since its CCC is 6A.

However, I would not personally describe 0.75mm² flex as 'tiny' - so, like TTC, I wonder what the OP is measuring, and whether it really is anything like as large as 0.75mm².

Kind Regards, John.

Compared to 1.25mm² or 1.5mm² three-core flex, 0.75mm² oval flex is tiny.

 

[JohnW2]

Compared to 1.25mm² or 1.5mm² three-core flex, 0.75mm² oval flex is tiny.

If one substitutes 'small' for 'tiny', that does pretty well as a statement of the obvious - you could add the fact that 0.5mm² 3-core flex is 'even tinier' if you wish - but I still would not personally regard 0,75mm² as particularly 'tiny'. However, it's obviously subjective - how do you view the dangling cable in a pendant light - do you regard that as 'tiny', 'very tiny' or what?

Hopefully the OP will be able to clarify for us - since it's obviously important to the question being asked - fixed wiring anything less than 0.75mm² clearly would not be acceptable with 5A protection.

Kind Regards, John