Fitting a new wall light Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[Skawn]

Apologies for posting what seems to be a fairly commonly asked question but all the replies to the threads I saw say to look at the projects but the projects I found didn't help much...

I'm replacing a wall light and am confused as to which wires I need to connect to which terminals on the fitting. The projects I looked at a switch terminal in the light but I've only got 2 terminals, one Neutral and one Live.

From the wall I have 2 sets of wires - one set with Red, Black and Earth and another with Red, Black (live with a red marker) and Earth.

the earths were already bound together with a green and yellow sheath so I've ignored those as theres no earth terminal on the light fitting.

What to I connect where? I've done a diagram for which I've put a link below, I'd really appreciate it if someone could tell me which wires I connect to each terminal!

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/1936/drawing2un1.gif

[ban-all-sheds]

What were they connected to before, i.e. on the old wall light?

It sounds like what you've got is the end of a loop-in lighting circuit, so the straight red/black cable is the loop, and the one with the red/black-sleeved-red is the switch cable.

If this is the case then obviously you join the two reds, and connect the black and the sleeved black to the N & L respectively of the light. But you really should check it out with your multimeter first to make sure that's what the cables are.

And BTW - when you say "[i]the earths were already bound together with a green and yellow sheath[/i]" I do hope you don't mean that they were just twisted together.....

[Skawn]

Thanks for the help, will try that when I get a bit of time.

I didn't take the sheath off the earths to see what has inside to be honest. What should be done with them if they're not used?

[ban-all-sheds]

They must be properly connected together using a bit of choc-block, not just twisted. Even if the wall-light doesn't need an earth, a different one in the future might, and if the back-box for the switch is metal, or the switch itself is, then this needs an earth as well.

[Skawn]

The back plate of the light is metal - the instructions that came with says it doesn't have earth as it's double insulated (theres 2 plastics casings that go over the bit where the terminals are)