Ansell downlighters replacement

WIAWSNB

Very frustrating that LEDs should be so short lived. But, replacement is very doable.

Q - can, you, or your partner, wire a plug? Only slightly flippant - it is not, in essence, any more complex than this.

In some ways it'll be easier, as the wires are single-core, so no 'strands' to fiddle with. Yes, there are two cables, and you are almost certainly correct - it's a loop-in 'daisy chain' wiring. That's fine - the two cables will be identical, just two of each into each terminal.

Can you do this? Yes you can.

Rodders' link above looks good - around £6 a pop for what should be good quality units. Get these babies registered on the Ansell site, so hopefully you'll have the full guarantee this time. And if you buy two boxes, you'll have spares...

Keep it simple - they are essentially decent units, and you are familiar with how to install them in the ceiling. Other makes might require slightly different hole sizes, and such nonsense.

To wire them, it's power off at the consumer unit - safety first. Open an existing connector, take a photo, and compare with the new one. Take your time - no rush. I suspect each one will end up taking no more than 5 minutes. Any concerns, ask on here. Bottom line, if you need a sparky, it'll be a one-hour job, so not a biggie.

Yes, they are dimmable. You'll need the correct type, I'm guessing 'trailing edge', but the instructions will make this clear. This is potentially more tricky, but really not as long as you study the existing switch wiring, take pics, and ask on here for confirmation. But that's a separate issue in any case.

That's a two-gang switch plate. What does the other switch control? The new plate will likely have two 'knobs' on it - it's unusual to have a 'rocker' switch beside a dimmer knob - but if you don't also want the other side dimmed too, then you can have a 'dummy', so it's press-only, and no turn.

Presumably your ceiling is Matt white emulsion, in which case touching up around the holes should be easy and pretty much invisible. On balance, I'd replace like-for-like, ie new Ansells, since you are familiar with them, as changing make can be fraught if even only a few mm difference in size.

If you want, you can check out the installation instructions for the light fitting, and read how to wire it - that should indicate how straightforward it should be.

something_girl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872545#Comment_81872545

thank you, much appreciated

something_girl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872545#Comment_81872545

do you mean the box of 10 is the ones to go for, I can’t work out if they come with a bezel, it would appear not, I wonder if our current ones would even fit? They say cut out 73mm and ours is 76mm, does that matter, there’s already gaps round a couple

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81872563#Comment_81872563

Eek, I'd assumed their installation dimensions would be identical!

Not at all sure - sorry.

Worth contacting Ansell to ask, I think.

something_girl

Decided to for these, like for like as near as, also purchased converter plates to give a far wider bezel to cover any gappy or damaged bits.

something_girl

Whoever fitted the down lights has bound the two earth wires to make one, giving 5 wires in total, do we keep it like that for the new lights (which has 6 slots anyway) or do we separate the earths? Thanks

WIAWSNB

Are they push-in or screw-down terminals in the fittings?

Have the earth wires been twisted together?

If you separate them, you'll need more sleeving.

something_girl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873727#Comment_81873727

push in terminals in new ones, haven’t looked at the wiring underneath the grey block yet, still need to remove all them. If they are twisted, is that good? Do they need separating?

bjorn_toby_wilde

Twisted together isn’t a problem unless the earth terminals on the new lights are too narrow and will only accept one wire. If that’s the case then you’ll need to untwist them and get some more earth sleeving so that both earth wires are sleeved.

something_girl

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873803#Comment_81873803

thank you, that makes perfect sense