How to Wire up IKEA Pendant Light Ask questions and find answers to many subjects relating to electrics and electrical work

[innex]

Hi, I've bought a new pendant light from Ikea and cant figure out how to wire it up for the life of me. I've included a couple of images to show the connections it comes with and what wires I have coming from the ceiling. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Cheers

[ericmark]

You can get lighting junction boxes designed to modify UK type wiring to EU type wiring. The "Ashley J501 16 Amp Downlighter Junction Box" is a good example.

In the UK we take power to ceiling rose which acts as a Junction Box as well as some thing to hang the lamp from. This has a few advantages, power for emergency lights and ceiling fans plus lower loop impedance.

However in the rest of the EU, they use the switch back box as a junction box, this may today work better with LED lamps and duel pole dimmers, but we are hardly going to rewire our houses to EU standards specially as the sockets used in the EU are not permitted in the UK under our rules.

So some green/yellow sleeving for earth wires, and both connected together, likely both browns also connected together and not connected to the lamp, and the lamp is connected to the two blue wires only.

Clearly without some testing this is a little guess work, but likely two earths together, two brown lines together and one of the blues will be neutral the other will be switched line.

[kbrownie]

Did you note down/take photos/mark up the original set up of the previous light.
If there is only one light that is activated when the switch is in the on possition.
It is highly likely the the two browns are the live loop, which will not be directly connected to the light fitting terminals.
Then that would leave the two blues to be connected to the fittings terminals.
One blue will be a neutral and the second blue a switch line/live.
They need to be identified as this fitting will more than likely have edison screw caps, so the live/line and neutral must be terminated to the correct terminal.
The live loop should be connected together via an insulated terminal/connector and the bare copper should be sleeved green/yellow and connected together also.

The terminals on the fitting are push fit, so make off about 10mm of bare copper at each conductor, then push into terminal hole and pull back to make sure it has gripped, you may have to push down the small levers to locate the conductor, then release to grip.

Make sure there is no exposed copper conductor showing from any terminals.

Then the fun starts, when you have to hook the plastic plate up and mess about trying to push the cover cap flush to ceiling, IKEA YUK!

[ericmark]

I agree Ikea electrics are rubbish, one exception it seems when zinc batteries were tested to see which were best value for money Ikea was top.

He also makes a good point which I missed, the centre pin should be line, and the screw neutral as there is a chance when changing the bulb you can touch the screw cap of the bulb.

The WagoBox Junction box is popular today [img]http://s7g3.scene7.com/is/image//ae235?src=ae235/8423F_P&$prodImageMedium$[/img] Screwfix 8423F because the connectors are maintenance free the whole box can be hidden in the ceiling.

The push connectors have been around a long time, I first saw them in 1980 working in Algeria, but they have only in the last few years started to appear in the UK.

[kbrownie]

If the junction is to be inaccessible in the ceiling void, only WAGO 222 and 773 series connectors are classified as MF.
Also the 16A Ashley junction box J501 are not classed as MF