DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I have a new metal ceiling light that has red and blue wires, plus two earth wires.
Unfortunatly my ceiling fitting has only the live, and nuetral with no earth. Am I right in thinking that I must have the ceiling cable re-wired with an earth? I think only the newer houses now have three wires. So its a bit annoying to find out after you buy a new light. A friend of mine said he didn't bother about the earth, but it states quite clearly 'THIS ITEM MUST BE EARTHED!'.
Advice please. :roll:

You are right

Your freind is wrong , his solution is similar to what some others wrongly do.

It is wreckless and dangerous to do it that way

Sorry to say you can't use it. If there are no earths then it must be quite old? It would ring alarm bells for me and I would want to inspect and test to see if the electrics in general are OK. Should be done either every 10 years or on change of occupants.
Also red and blue wires ring alarm bells as red with black or brown with blue are the two EU standards.