Hi All, I've just bought some new outside lights to replace the rusty ugly things that were fitted when I bought the house. I thought that it would dead straight forward, and a simple one-for-one swap, but it doesn't look quite as simple as I imagined...... The wiring in the new lamps all have terminal blocks for 3 wires, but the cables coming out from the walls all have 4 wires. I was expecting the usual Blue, Brown, Yellow/Green but there is also a black one! Does anyone know what to do with the black one? Apart from getting an Electrician in!?! Cheers then.
Does the black one have a red ring on it? If so this should be the switched live. So blue in neutral, yellow & green is earth (might be just a bare copper wire and should be shealthed with yellow/green) Brown is probably live (for use with pir sensors you not switching off) Black (with red ring) is live via a switch.
It sounds to me from your description that the wires coming from your walls are configured for a light that at one time needed a switched live, probably for a P.I.R activated light as Ronnie mentioned. Someone might have replaced the P.I.R lights before you with just a normal light that would of course only required a live, neutral and earth. The black wire is probably ( but not definitely) a switched live, you could just isolate this with a connector block and insulation tape to make it safe and wire your new lights using the live ( brown) neutral ( blue) and green/yellow ( earth) How do you switch the outside lights on, with a switch inside the house? Let us know and we should be able to help ( or further confuse).
Thanks very much for your replies. I think I get it! Although I'm not exactly sure what to do next. Is it that I either connect the brown wire for permanently on, or the black one if it's switched? The old lights definitely had sensors, but the new ones also have sensors too. I'm not quite sure about the switching because the old ones weren't working (although the sensors did have a red light in them that flashed when they detected movement). There are some switches which currently don't do anything, that I was hoping would prove to be for lights once I'd connected the new ones, but I can't tell at the moment. Thanks again for your help
You say, "There are some switches which currently don't do anything". From what you have described about the wiring, my hunch would be that the existing lights that you have removed were, as you say 'Sensor' activated and probably had the capability to be overridden with an override switch ( one of the mystery switches that currently don't do anything). This switch would give you the ability to override the automatic operation of the lights, and to turn the lights on, and leave them on as long as the switch had been 'turned on'. It can get a bit more complex than the scenario I have described as some of the P.I.R lights have what's called a 'Pulse override facility', where the light is put into a permanently on state by flipping an external control switch on and then off within a certain time. But, to keep it simple. this is what I recommend you do. Connect your new lights this way. The brown on the wall to the brown on the light fitting. The blue on the wall to the blue on the light fitting. The Green /Yeller to the Green /Yeller on the light fitting. The Black on the wall -isolate this one with a single 'choc block' and wrap some insulation tape around it to make it absolutely safe. Your lights should now work when activated by the movement of something ( a human moving past it's beam for example. If you don't get any joy, try switching the unknown switches to there opposite position and see what happens then. If you have any testers capable of determining the presence of mains voltage, i.e a voltmeter, or even the potentially deadly so called 'Electricians screwdriver' let me know and I can run you through some simple tests to hopefully determine whats going on. Good luck.
You say, "There are some switches which currently don't do anything". From what you have described about the wiring, my hunch would be that the existing lights that you have removed were, as you say 'Sensor' activated and probably had the capability to be overridden with an override switch ( one of the mystery switches that currently don't do anything). This switch would give you the ability to override the automatic operation of the lights, and to turn the lights on, and leave them on as long as the switch had been 'turned on'. It can get a bit more complex than the scenario I have described as some of the P.I.R lights have what's called a 'Pulse override facility', where the light is put into a permanently on state by flipping an external control switch on and then off within a certain time. But, to keep it simple. this is what I recommend you do. Connect your new lights this way. The brown on the wall to the brown on the light fitting. The blue on the wall to the blue on the light fitting. The Green /Yeller to the Green /Yeller on the light fitting. The Black on the wall -isolate this one with a single 'choc block' and wrap some insulation tape around it to make it absolutely safe. Your lights should now work when activated by the movement of something ( a human moving past it's beam for example. If you don't get any joy, try switching the unknown switches to there opposite position and see what happens then. If you have any testers capable of determining the presence of mains voltage, i.e a voltmeter, or even the potentially deadly so called 'Electricians screwdriver' let me know and I can run you through some simple tests to hopefully determine whats going on. Of course, either turn off all the power on the fuseboard, or turn off the M.C.B/remove fuse for this lighting circuit before doing any connections! Good luck.
Thanks again for your replies!Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try this over the weekend and I'm working away now. I'll let you know how it goes as soon I can try it..........
