Weird electrical problem
Discussion
Just replaced the main light in the lounge as the previous one had stopped working several months ago. I had looked at the previous one to check it was still getting power which it was but assumed it had a broken wire internally.
So, new light bought and installed and this one is not working either? I have power to the ceiling rose, the only strange thing that I can tell is that the voltage on the Neutral line seems low at around 175V, Live is normal. Any ideas?
I've tried the new light with both CFL's and normal bulbs but still no joy, any quick help before it goes to dark to look at it?
So, new light bought and installed and this one is not working either? I have power to the ceiling rose, the only strange thing that I can tell is that the voltage on the Neutral line seems low at around 175V, Live is normal. Any ideas?
I've tried the new light with both CFL's and normal bulbs but still no joy, any quick help before it goes to dark to look at it?
cerbfan said:
Just replaced the main light in the lounge as the previous one had stopped working several months ago. I had looked at the previous one to check it was still getting power which it was but assumed it had a broken wire internally.
So, new light bought and installed and this one is not working either? I have power to the ceiling rose, the only strange thing that I can tell is that the voltage on the Neutral line seems low at around 175V, Live is normal. Any ideas?
I've tried the new light with both CFL's and normal bulbs but still no joy, any quick help before it goes to dark to look at it?
The voltage on the neutral line???So, new light bought and installed and this one is not working either? I have power to the ceiling rose, the only strange thing that I can tell is that the voltage on the Neutral line seems low at around 175V, Live is normal. Any ideas?
I've tried the new light with both CFL's and normal bulbs but still no joy, any quick help before it goes to dark to look at it?
Mains power only arrives between live and neutral. If should be 240VAC rms, +/- 10%
Just had a look in the switch (its old coloured wiring by the way) and it has a red coming in and black going out, so the switched live is black not red. When I have wired the light up, I have Red going to Brown, wheras it appears on this light that the live is black.
Even if it was the case that Live and Neutral are switched I always thought that it should still work?
Even if it was the case that Live and Neutral are switched I always thought that it should still work?
I will do once I can get my helper to hold the weight of the light for me again.
Tried swapping the live and neutral over, still nothing. Its a very simple set up though, one way switch, red constant live in, switched live out is black.
At the light boss, there is a red, black and earth wire. Earth is obvious, I have had the red and black wires now in both combinations on the live and neutral on the light fitting.
Checked again with the multimeter and between the red and earth, 240V and black and earth, 240V (I think the low voltage stated earlier was a bit of a red herring.
Does this give anyone any clues? Time for a sparky?
Tried swapping the live and neutral over, still nothing. Its a very simple set up though, one way switch, red constant live in, switched live out is black.
At the light boss, there is a red, black and earth wire. Earth is obvious, I have had the red and black wires now in both combinations on the live and neutral on the light fitting.
Checked again with the multimeter and between the red and earth, 240V and black and earth, 240V (I think the low voltage stated earlier was a bit of a red herring.
Does this give anyone any clues? Time for a sparky?
98elise said:
cerbfan said:
Meter between Live and Earth is 220V or so, Neutral to Earth is only around 175V?
There should be nothing between neutral and earthcerbfan said:
I will do once I can get my helper to hold the weight of the light for me again.
Tried swapping the live and neutral over, still nothing. Its a very simple set up though, one way switch, red constant live in, switched live out is black.
At the light boss, there is a red, black and earth wire. Earth is obvious, I have had the red and black wires now in both combinations on the live and neutral on the light fitting.
Checked again with the multimeter and between the red and earth, 240V and black and earth, 240V (I think the low voltage stated earlier was a bit of a red herring.
Does this give anyone any clues? Time for a sparky?
That doesn't make sense.Tried swapping the live and neutral over, still nothing. Its a very simple set up though, one way switch, red constant live in, switched live out is black.
At the light boss, there is a red, black and earth wire. Earth is obvious, I have had the red and black wires now in both combinations on the live and neutral on the light fitting.
Checked again with the multimeter and between the red and earth, 240V and black and earth, 240V (I think the low voltage stated earlier was a bit of a red herring.
Does this give anyone any clues? Time for a sparky?
At the switch you'll have a live in and switched out. You say it's black which would mean you should have two blacks at the ceiling rose, but you say you've got a red, a black and Earth. Are you sure there aren't any other wires there hidden e.g. a live in/out which is tied to a cable going to the switch.
Did you disconnect any wires.
When you switch the switch - which of the wires at the light switch is still live ? If it's both then you've screwed up on the wiring.
Globs said:
98elise said:
cerbfan said:
Meter between Live and Earth is 220V or so, Neutral to Earth is only around 175V?
There should be nothing between neutral and earthOP: If it worked OK in the past then please don't start swapping wires around!
I think I might have realised what has gone wrong. It appears that I have 2 lives instead of a live and a neutral. The original light stopped working around the time that I had all the electrics done for the bathroom but I obviously never used this light in the lounge for a good while afterwards and then never twigged that it not working was related. It can only be this as the light was working fine before and I now have 2 live wires at the light and no one else has ever done any electrical work since I've lived here.
jeff m2 said:
Floating nuetral
I would have thought that was unusual in UK because of ring mains.
In English you nuetral is dis somewhere, the voltage you are seeing is feeding back through another "anything".
Lighting is more likely to be a radial than a ring circuit.I would have thought that was unusual in UK because of ring mains.
In English you nuetral is dis somewhere, the voltage you are seeing is feeding back through another "anything".
Op
Are there more than 3 wires at the light or two wires at the switch?
Who did the bathroom lighting changes ? This may of lost the neutral for your light.
Edited by Brite spark on Monday 24th October 00:02
cerbfan said:
I think I might have realised what has gone wrong. It appears that I have 2 lives instead of a live and a neutral. The original light stopped working around the time that I had all the electrics done for the bathroom but I obviously never used this light in the lounge for a good while afterwards and then never twigged that it not working was related. It can only be this as the light was working fine before and I now have 2 live wires at the light and no one else has ever done any electrical work since I've lived here.
At the ceiling rose you should have a 3 seperate sections across the middle, neutral, the live loop, and the switched live. Earth will be on a seperate tab.The neutral will probably be two blacks together (neutral loop in/out) you need to connect your light neutral to this. There should be a live loop, which will be 3 reds (the live loop in/out of the neutral, and a live feed to the switch). At your switch there will be a red and black. The red has come from the live loop at the rose. The black becomes live when you switch the light on. This black feeds back up to the rose, and connects to the live side of the lamp. The switched live should really have red tape on it to identify it as live.
This all assumes the rose is being used as the radial feed.
Some pictures will help.
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