Replaced ceiling light = lights don't work

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
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17,315
Location
Bristol
Just finished fitting a new ceiling light in our bedroom and now our bedroom, second bedroom and hallway lights don't work. Bathroom and kitchen/living do so they're obviously on another circuit.

What have I done wrong and how do I fix it? There's only two wires coming down and connected (live and neutral) and they're going into the correct holes in the light's connection box.

Help!
 
Unsure, the whole thing is a bodge job up there. It looks like there's two separate junction boxes up there which are completely covered in black electric tape (so unsure if they are actually junction boxes), then only two wires "visible" which were going into the old ceiling light.

This is about as clear a shot I can get I'm afraid.

F7o8dvh.jpg
 
If all you've done is take the live and neutral out of the old light and put the same live and neutral back into the new light, then all I can think of is that you've either disturbed a wire somewhere in that mess, or put the live and neutral the wrong way round in the new light.

Might be worth swapping them over and seeing if that works.

Personally I'd get down to screwfix, buy one of these, and start again

KxGz5qr.png
 
I wonder why we don't use crimps in this country to terminate cables?

I've never yet looked at a chocolate block installation and thought "yep, that's totally safe, no chance of a short there", they always look like total abortions thrown together by creatures without an opposable thumb. Makes a laughing stock of the rest of the regs if this is still the standard way of rigging a light.
 
turn power off and redo the neutral and live loop connections

all reds on the choc block, redo and make sure are secure

3 blacks, 1 is out on the last pic, get them all together and secure

put the brown sleeved black to the brown on the flex
 
Just removed all the tape. Can you make any more sense of this?

LR4Wq1A.jpg

Black with brown sleeving is switch live, put single black with other two blacks with blue is the neutral, & the three reds together are the lives.

Just keep wires in their group & you will be ok, keep the piece of brown sleeving on the single black to identify it.
And make sure sleeving doesn't drop off.

Bitslice: I've seen that done like that many times. not just light circuits, but ring mains & shower circuits joined with those connectors.
 
Last edited:
Dumb question: why wasn't a ceiling connector used?
...Round thing, lots of bus bars for L, N, L(sw), E.

At least make it safer for the next guy ;)
 
I've never yet looked at a chocolate block installation and thought "yep, that's totally safe, no chance of a short there", they always look like total abortions thrown together by creatures without an opposable thumb. Makes a laughing stock of the rest of the regs if this is still the standard way of rigging a light.

Absolutely hate those things, they should only ever be used in temporary installations IMO.
 
Wow. Looks odd that as there seems to be four twin and earth cables going into the 'junction box', whereas you'd expect three (supply, to next light, to light switch).

Assuming the black cable that's sleeved brown is the switched live, then as above connect it to brown wire on the right hand choc box and the black wire hanging around into the same section that the other two black neutrals are in the right hand choc box.

You must have pulled something out when changing the lights, as there's no way this would have worked before.
 
If you've got a couple of "mystery" boxes in the loft under tape OP, I'd personally buy a couple of proper junction boxes and redo them. I'm always suspicious of anything wrapped up in tape!!!
 
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