Wall lights too dim???

[benjique]

Hi, I put my nrw wall lights up yesterday which are controlled via a new 3 gang dimmer switch which i fitted the replace on old broken one.

They have the same bulbs as the ceiling light but even with the dimmer turned up full they are pretty dull. The ceiling light is about twice as bright??
It appears as though they have been turned down on ther dimmer if you get me.

Is this how they are? could i have done something wrong in the wiring up (Surely they just wouldn't work if this was the case) or have i wired my dimmer wrong? but again surely it just wouldn't work?

Any help greatly appreciated

 

[Spark123]

If they are the same wattage but only at half brightness it sounds like you have wired them in series. What happens if you remove one lamp, does the other one not work?

 

[Steve]

What wiring have YOU changed or added?

 

[Spark123]

An explination of how you have wired it will also help

 

[benjique]

well, i haven't added any wiring. I took the old lights off, the wires came from the wall into a connecter block, so i taped that up, then, when my new lights arrived i remove the block and put the wires into the connector block on my new lights

I have removed one bulb and now nothing happens?

cheers for the help

also, when the new lights were wired up, one light had a live (red) neutral (black) and an earth and the other had two blacks, no reds and what looked like two earths??, it was my brother who put the lights on so i'm not entirely sure,

 

[breezer]

they are wired in series.

have a good look at the light with 2 blacks, its 2 reds missing

 

[benjique]

they are wired in series.

have a good look at the light with 2 blacks, its 2 reds missing

right mate, just found the reds, they were buried in a lump of paster board adhesive.

they are in a little chock block, so now i have two red, black and earths, i just connect those to my live, neutral and earths on my light, yeah?

 

[Spark123]

Yes,
Both reds together into the L terminal.
Both Blacks together into the N terminal.
Both earth wires together to the earth terminal.

 

[benjique]

right, slight problem, they aren't labelled. I know which is the earth but if i get live and neutral the wrong way round will it just trip out?

 

[Spark123]

If it is a bayonet cap fitting and the wires are both the same colour then it doesn't really matter.

 

[benjique]

it's a screw in type

 

[Spark123]

They should really be marked so that the centre pin in the base of the lampholder is connected to the live. What colour wires connect to the lamp side of the chock block?

 

[benjique]

that's the thing mate, they're both white, apart from the earth, the other light was marked L and N with a sticker but this has probably fallen off, shall i just wire it and see?

 

[Spark123]

For some of the new fangled Edison screw lamp holders it doesn't matter which way round they are connected. As they are both white I am thinking along these lines but am not 100% sure. What does the instruction leaflet that came with it say?
The reasoning that the centre pin is normally live in the old ones I believe is that people are more likely to come into contact with the screw thread of a lightbulb than its base when unscrewing it, but newer lamp holders now use a method which disconnects from the lamp when it is being unscrewed.
Just to be pedantic, I'd check which wire is connected to the centre pin using a multimeter set to ohms range. (Someone will be along in a few minutes and say it doesn't matter!!)

 

[benjique]

not a massive help tbh, just says connect the live to the live, neutral to neutral etc