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lighting circuit not working Too many wires!

2K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  NateHanson 
#1 · (Edited)
Dear all,

I recently wanted to replace a light with a more modern chandellier looking thing (not heavy but requries a hook).

I opened the cover to find a very strange connection box:

O - BROWN
O - BLACK
O - RED
O - RED
O - RED
O - BLACK
O - BLACK
O - BLUE

O = CONNECTIONS
BR = BROWN WIRES
B = BLACK WIRES
R = RED WIRES
BLUE = BLUE WIRES

I took all the wires out to make room for the hook but now cannot get it too work again? Does anyone know the set standard for this? It seems that this circuit (in my bedroom) effects the bathroom, lounge and kitchen also. I have managed to get power to the other rooms by swapping the black wires around but then the bedroom doesn't work. I also at one point managed to get power in the new light but then the other lights didn't turn on or flickerd very faintly.

I am sure someone on this forum, would know exactly what to do here!

cheers
 
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#2 ·
Wow.



Are all of these wires in the house, or in the connections for the chandelier? "Flickering very faintly" means your connections are made but not tight. 3 blacks, 3 reds I'm good with but where do the brown and blue come from? Are they part of the chandelier? Last time I saw blue was in a ceiling fan where light and fan operated separately; blue was hot to the light.
 
#3 ·
All the black and red wires are for the house, the blue and the brown wires come from this connection box and clips neatly into the L and N connectors.

I checked the kitchen one and it looks identical.

I have also checked all red when the electricity is turned on and they are all live but the black are of course not.

In some combinations they flicker when I turn alternate lights on and off.
 
#7 ·
Ok...take all the blues, and pigtail one out for the fixture. Then if you have a tester, test all the reds/blacks with the switch off to find your switchleg. once you find the ones that don't have power, kinda push those off to one side. then turn the switch on, and from the ones that you set aside, find the one that now has power. that is your switchleg. then the ones that are hot on the otherside (the ones you didn't pull to one side) go connected to the other black/red's, just make sure you don't put power to power, by the way, after you have tested everything, CUT THE POWER OFF AT THE PANEL TO DO ALL YOUR MAKE-UP. You are in England, you are dealing with higher voltages than us in the US.
 
#8 ·
Ahh, well that's a useful bit of information when posting on a site that's primarily frequented by North American electricians and DIYers! :D

We've primarily got Black (hot), White (neutral), Red (2nd hot conductor - often switched hot conductor), and Green or Bare (ground). I understand things are very different over there.
 
#13 ·
There isn't really any positive or negative with Alternating Current (AC). DC systems have positive and negative ends, but in an AC circuit the direction of the voltage difference switches 50 times/second (in the UK - 60 times/second in the US).

I'm totally confused by this UK system of wiring, and to tell you the truth, it sounds a bit like you are too. No offense or anything, but to be safest, maybe it would be wise to get a book on wiring (in the UK) and study up on some basics before you get zapped! :)
 
#10 ·
by the way, in england, blue is neutral, green w/yellow stripe is ground, L1 is Brown, L2 is Black, and L3 is Grey.

NOTE: DEPENDING ON THE AGE OF THE BUILDING, WIRING COLORS MAY NOT BE ACCURATE, THIS IS THE CURRENT COLOR CODE PLAN FOR ENGLAND, I BELIVE IT IS 1997 AND AFTER. HOWEVER, BLUE REMAINS NEUTRAL.
 
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