Ceiling light help!

pmarsh1986

I appreciate I might need to get an electrician but wonder if anyone has an idea what I've dive wrong

So, replaced two ceiling lights. One in hallway at front door and another in bedroom but now the other bedroom ceiling light doesn't work. The bulb works in another lamp and no circuits have tripped.

I've replaced the hallway as to how it was previously as that was complicated. Two red wires, two blacks (one with blue and other with brown sleeve) and two earths joined together.

The bedrooms old light was blue and brown wires with an earth. The Reds were joined together and tucked up into the ceiling.

The non-working bedroom light only has a blue and brown and earth I to the rose.

Can anyone explain what I might have done?

Le_Kirk

Lights are normally connected in a ring. i.e. red wires and black wires (Live & Neutral) go from light fitting to light fitting in the different rooms. For example, the reds that were joined together and tucked up in the ceiling. Ideally they should have been joined by the special connector block provided in the ceiling rose. There should also be space in that same block for the blacks (neutrals) to be connected. Make sure that you have not inadvertently disconnected one of the lives or neutrals that continue on to next room. If I doubt, get an electrician as you say. Also, as I am sure you did, remove fuse, turn off circuit breaker or turn off mains before doing any electrical work.

pmarsh1986

Thanks. Despite the bedroom being easier to fit it I wonder if that's where I have went wrong. Maybe the Reds have separated? I'll try that and if that doesn't work then I'll get an electrician.

Le_Kirk

In the bedroom there must have been brown & blue from the fitting to the light. These are the outgoing wires. They would be connected into a terminal block, usually brass and the brown would have been connected with a red, the blue with a black which would have come from the ceiling, the incoming wires. The other reds would have been connected together, either with their own terminal block pushed back into the ceiling void or more normally using the special block within the ceiling rose. It sounds from your description that you have lost the black (neutral) that should be connected to the blue and would also be connected to the light in the other bedroom. If you can, post a picture.

pmarsh1986

So problem solved and we have light - everywhere. Problem was the bedroom. There was three black wires. I connected the black (brown sleeve) to the L terminal on the light. Two blacks (one with blue sleeve) I joined together and inserted this into the N terminal. Earthed it too. Reds were still joined together in the ceiling. The colours and number of wires are confusing. Especially when articles talk about blue/brown and others talk about black and red. What if you have both?? Suppose that's why you have professionals.

Le_Kirk

Glad you got it sorted. Brown is used as Red for Live and Blue is used as Black for Neutral. You should not connect the earth into the neutral. The reason for having sleeves is that when electricians wire up a house they use the most appropriate cable, e.g. twin and earth and they tend to be Red, Black and bare. If they use that cable for going from the ceiling rose to the light switch, both wires (not the bare - earth) are live, so they have to sleeve one of the blacks, either in Brown or Red, so that everyone understands it is a live and not a neutral. The new colours Brown and Blue were brought in in 2006 for new fixed installations. It is not really sensible to mix the two systems but if you buy new light fittings, they will have the new colours. BTW earth should be sleeved Green/Yellow.

Risteard

Le_Kirk wrote: »

Lights are normally connected in a ring.

No they aren't.

zax47

Risteard wrote: »

No they aren't.

Indeed,we generally wire them as a radial circuit - yes, wired in series (from one to next to next) but there will be an end to the circuit (the fitting with just one cable in). A ring would start and end at the consumer unit.

Le_Kirk

zax47 wrote: »

Indeed,we generally wire them as a radial circuit - yes, wired in series (from one to next to next) but there will be an end to the circuit (the fitting with just one cable in). A ring would start and end at the consumer unit.

Happy to be corrected. That's what I meant, just didn't think before using the word "ring."

Risteard

zax47 wrote: »

yes, wired in series

Wired in parallel as opposed to series.