Shortening a Ceiling Light Cable?

pinkteapot

Changed a light-shade at the weekend in our upstairs hall. The new light-shade is slightly bigger (height) than the old one and now, when I open the airing cupboard door, it hits the shade and sends the light swinging.

It's a standard round plastic ceiling light with a white cable down to the bulb/shade. I just need to shorten the cable by about half an inch - only a tiny bit higher and the shade would clear the door in question.

Is this something I can do myself? We have a sparky friend who doesn't mind doing small jobs for a little bit of cash, but just wondered if I could have a go...

Ebe_Scrooge

Easy peasy. Step 1 - TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY AT THE MAINS !!!!! You only need to kill the circuit that the light is on, but if you're in any doubt, switch off the master switch, better safe than sorry. For this reason, easier to do in daylight rather than in the evening.

It's just a case of removing the casing, undo the wires, cut them to length, re-connect them and screw the casing back on. It's usually easier to undo / redo the wires at the top ( i.e. where they are connected to the ceiling pendant ) rather than the end going down into the light fitting itself.

If you're a relative novice at electrics ( I suspect you are from the tone of your question, no offence intended ), just remember to put the wires back in the same order they came from ( Blue= neutral, Brown=Live, Green/yellow = earth, not always present on plastic fittings), and ensure the screws are done up securely and the wires are properly seated and secured.

keith969

Take off shade. Tie the cable in a simple knot near the bulb end. Bingo! You've shortened the cable.

Ebe_Scrooge

keith969 wrote: »

Take off shade. Tie the cable in a simple knot near the bulb end. Bingo! You've shortened the cable.

Tying knots in electrical cables is not really to be recommended .....

macman

keith969 wrote: »

Take off shade. Tie the cable in a simple knot near the bulb end. Bingo! You've shortened the cable.

And created a fire hazard.

vax2002

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

You only need to kill the circuit that the light is on,

Really, even on a negative switching board ?

pinkteapot

Thanks. Probably wouldn't have gone with the suggestion of knotting the cable.

Sounds about as easy as I thought it'd be! I am a novice, though successfully changed a cooker hood that needed wiring into a socket earlier this year. This sounds relatively similar. I'll test the smoke alarm in the hall while I'm up the stepladder just to be on the safe side.

When doing anything with electrics I just turn the whole lot off - I don't trust the individual switches even though they're clearly labelled.

keith969

macman wrote: »

And created a fire hazard.

What a load of rubbish. A relatively loose knot in a modern cable is probably less dangerous than a novice disconnecting cables and trying to reconnect them again safely.

You'll be trying to tell me next that a 90 degree bend in a cable is dangerous too. :rotfl:

zax47

vax2002 wrote: »

Really, even on a negative switching board ?

There is no negative in AC electrics, only phase1, phase2, phase3 and neutral.....
Nor are there any Neutral only switched single pole distribution boards used in domestic installations, they aren't allowed. Single pole switched live or dual pole switched live and neutral only.

Where the hell would you have ever seen a single pole, neutral only switched DB anyway, or are you making up your bullsh1t?

27col

If someone has to ask if they can shorten a cable themselves, my instinct would be to say no. You should not need to ask, if you were the slightest bit competent, you would do it without even thinking. It is difficult to think of a simpler electrical job. You are right in your instinct not to trust light switches, even if they are off.

macman

keith969 wrote: »

What a load of rubbish. A relatively loose knot in a modern cable is probably less dangerous than a novice disconnecting cables and trying to reconnect them again safely.

You'll be trying to tell me next that a 90 degree bend in a cable is dangerous too. :rotfl:

That's a different question entirely...
How do you know it's a 'modern' cable? It could be 40 years old, braided, rotten...and how do you define 'loose'?
You are making too many assumptions.
It is not acceptable practice to knot cable or flex of any kind, period.