DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi
Moved to new house last month and decided to swap some halogen down lights to LED. All seemed straightforward enough, until I saw this wiring set up for one the down lights,
The Halogen down light was connected to the middle ( x3 blue) and the right ( brown and blue) connections. The LED down light works fine when swapped over.
The 3 live on the left, remained live even when I switched off the lights.
Why I don t understand is how can live and neutral be connected together without any issues.

Also noticed, 2 of the down lights in Zone1 bathroom ares are not IP65. We had a qualified electrician check the house when we bought it. Should this have been flagged by him. I thought it is legal requirement for IP65 in these zones?
Thanks for your help.
Lou

In theory one should put a sleeve on a cable used for line instead of neutral but often missed. The cable to the switch will use both cores for line. Years ago you could buy twin and earth with two red cores but since the change in colours it seems to have gone and sleeving the blue with a red sleeve is now the norm.

Zone one in a bathroom is limited by:
(i) the finished floor level and the horizontal plane corresponding to the highest fixed shower head or water outlet or the horizontal plane lying 2.25 m above the finished floor level, whichever is higher
(ii) the vertical surface:
a) circumscribing, the bath tub or shower basin.
b) at a distance of 1.20 m from the centre point of the fixed water outlet on the wall or ceiling for showers w without a basin.
Zone 1 does not include zone 0.
The space under the bath tub or shower basin is considered to be zone 1. However, if the space under the bath tub or shower basin is only accessible with a tool, it is considered to be outside the zones.

In the main the lights are not in Zone 1 the glass may be but the main part of the lamp is in the loft space.

And Zone 1 requires IPX4 not IPX5 so that is water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect. Remember it is just an easy way to show how well it resists the environment it is installed in. Many I have heard saying I need an IP rated xyz well all items will have an IP rating it is just you some times don't know what it is.

LED lamps are a problem with IP rating as the fitting may be IP68 but that does not mean the lamp used in the fitting is IP68 most fittings designed for quartz lamps are not to the declared IP rating when LED replacements are used.

Thank you for your response.
So from what I understand the Blue is in fact line and not neutral?

Correct. They have just not put the sleeve on it.

Thanks

Better late than never... We have written up a formal explanation of the bathroom zones and the relevant IP ratings for appliances:

https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/ba ... -zones.htm

You'll see a couple of images we made up to make it easier to understand too.