Help with wiring a ceiling light - old wiring (black/red) into new wiring

nina33

Hi all,
I would be very grateful for some advice with reconnecting my light which became partially disconnected whilst I was trying to reattach the light fitting to the ceiling (the light was currently off, but there was a spark when it fell)

So, coming out of the ceiling are 6 wires in total:
One single black, which has some red tape slightly further up (switch wire?)
Triple red wire
Double black wire

The double black is still connected to the neutral/blue wire coming from the light
But the triple red and single black (with red tape) have become disconnected from the earth and live wires coming from the light

Above the wires coming out of the ceiling I can see them bundled together in either red or white casing. I can also see some earth/green&yellow wires up there as well (but none are coming down through the ceiling)

So my question is, do I attach the earth wire from the light to the triple red from the ceiling, and the live wire from the light to the single black with red tape from the ceiling? Or vice versa? I assume they were all attached in some way or another before the light fell?

Would be grateful for any advice you can give me….
Apologies if this is an obvious question, or has been asked many times before…
Nina

iveco_man

switch live goes to lamp live never put earth to live or neutral discatd earth unless you have earth lug on lamp fitting

phill99

Not really sure what light fitting you have.

The black with the red tape on it ('switched live') goes to the brown on the light fitting.

The double black goes to the blue on the light fitting.

The three reds have to be secured together as they provide power to the circuit. It they are not secured together, the circuit will not work and you will have no light at all. Sometimes on a new light fitting, there may be a 'choccy-block' for them to go into so they are secured together and make acircuit. Sometimes, light fittings don't have this facility and you need to get a choccy block and connect them all together.

If you have a metal light fitting, the EARTH will have a seperate earthing point and this is where its connected.
DO NOT connect the earth to the live - it will trip your fuse box!!!

keystone

The reason that there was a spark when it fell was because the electricity was NOT off. Switching it off at the wall ain't enough. You need to pop the breaker too. Oh and black / blue aren't neutral at all thats a misnomer and its just as live as the red / brown live. This is why the industry has taken to calling them line (red / brown) and load (black / blue). Follow Phil's wiring instructions.

Cheers

ormus

a typical light circuit diagram. (old colors).
note the switched live wire. (marked with red tape).


new colors:
earth is green/yellow now.
red = brown.
black = blue.

macman

If you think that just switching a light off at the wall switch renders the circuit safe to work on, then you clearly haven't got a clue what you are doing and should call in an electrician.

KillerWatt

I'm with Macman, do yourself a favour and spend an hours labour on a sparks unless you are serious about leaving the gene pool.

ormus

aye.
forgot to add. switch off at the mains before doing any work on the killer electrons.

diable

ormus wrote: »

aye.
forgot to add. switch off at the mains before doing any work on the killer electrons.

It doesn't hurt....... that much ;o))

KillerWatt

diable wrote: »

It doesn't hurt....... that much ;o))

49 tickles, it's 50 that hertz

keystone

So tomorrow morning i will turn off the fuse for the upstairs lights and have a poke around up there

Halleluia! This posted elsewhere actually and shamlessly cross posted by me but its the same OP and the same problem.

Cheers