Wiring office light with no earth to standard plug? Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[BadPigeon]

Hi, i was given a spare long office type of light which would be ideal for my garage. Was hoping to connect a standard power socket and cable from a spare lamp however my light on the connector had blue/brown live/neutral wire there is no earth in the connector, see the pic. How can i connect a simple plug/cord to this light. Many thanks gents.

[Mr White]

That is a fluorescent fitting. You MUST connect it's earth, so you need a 3 core flex. Connect it in the plug as usual, and connect in the light as usual (Brown to brown, blue to blue) and the earth goes to the middle terminal of the connector block.
If you look at the connector block middle terminal (Same side the wires already are) you will see it is actually connected to a metal "tag" that forms part of the light fitting.
You must use it with earth connected.

[BadPigeon]

Thank you so much for that explanation that makes sense. So that little notch in the middle of the connector is connected to the metal casing. When I connect the earth wire to the middle part and brown blue to match that will effectively earth the metal casing just in case brown wire touches the metal. I didnt even see that little bit of raised metal in the middle of the connector block. Thanks again. D