ChatterBank1 min ago
Ceiling Light Being Weird - Any Ideas?
27 Answers
A few days ago, I bought a ceiling light from one of the Moroccan shops in The Lanes.
It's like a chandelier style. Bronze coloured metal, with seven chains. on each chain, there is a multi faceted glass shade. So (this is the relevant bit), seven bulbs altogether.
The wiring seemed really simple. My pal and I gave it a go.
When I took off the old light, there was a plastic circular thing. On the plastic circular thing, there was a plastic strip, with electrical connectors. There were several thick wires coming out of the ceiling, screwed into these electrical connectors.
The old ceiling light just had two wires (the Brown Live wire, and the Blue Neutral wire), screwed into the two outside connectors on the plastic strip.
Looked simple. Sooo ...
The new light also has the same two wires. We attached the wires from the new light in the same way. The new Brown wire, where the old Brown wire had come from. And the new Blue wire, where the old Blue wire had come from.
And it worked. But ... (here's the problem) ...
When I switch the light OFF, one of the bulbs keeps glowing (but very dimly).
If I start to unscrew the glowing bulb, it fades, and a couple of the other bulbs start to glow.
Could it be a wiring problem? Have we done something wrong?
The new light is quite heavy (it took both of us to hold it up). To support the weight, we cut a wire coat hanger, bent it around a piece of wood in the hole in the ceiling, and bent the other end into a hook. We hung the new light from this hook. Could this metal coat hanger be part of the problem? We don't think it was touching against any bare wires.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
J x
It's like a chandelier style. Bronze coloured metal, with seven chains. on each chain, there is a multi faceted glass shade. So (this is the relevant bit), seven bulbs altogether.
The wiring seemed really simple. My pal and I gave it a go.
When I took off the old light, there was a plastic circular thing. On the plastic circular thing, there was a plastic strip, with electrical connectors. There were several thick wires coming out of the ceiling, screwed into these electrical connectors.
The old ceiling light just had two wires (the Brown Live wire, and the Blue Neutral wire), screwed into the two outside connectors on the plastic strip.
Looked simple. Sooo ...
The new light also has the same two wires. We attached the wires from the new light in the same way. The new Brown wire, where the old Brown wire had come from. And the new Blue wire, where the old Blue wire had come from.
And it worked. But ... (here's the problem) ...
When I switch the light OFF, one of the bulbs keeps glowing (but very dimly).
If I start to unscrew the glowing bulb, it fades, and a couple of the other bulbs start to glow.
Could it be a wiring problem? Have we done something wrong?
The new light is quite heavy (it took both of us to hold it up). To support the weight, we cut a wire coat hanger, bent it around a piece of wood in the hole in the ceiling, and bent the other end into a hook. We hung the new light from this hook. Could this metal coat hanger be part of the problem? We don't think it was touching against any bare wires.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
J x
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if it's glowing there must be power in the circuit. Is you light switch a simple on/off switch or a dimmer, I suspect the latter, a small amount of power can get through those. Also try this, remove one bulb and turn it on, if the other bulbs light then it is connected in parallel which explains why the dim lit bulb moves along to the next one when you unscrew it. If you change the switch temporarily to a simple on off one then there should be no power to the bulbs at all when "off".
The bulbs in the new fitting sound like these:
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What did the old light fitting have?
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What did the old light fitting have?
Hiya JJ. I have a theory, but I can't think of a solution though.
LED bulbs I guess?
I've had this once before with ceiling downlights. Your little LEDs take a very small current to light them up. My theory is that you have a case of "Electrical Inductance."
Somewhere within the light fitting, the wires to each bulb cross over one another. This can create a magnetic field which "induces" a current in the wire going to the offending bulb.
Not normally a problem with old-type bulbs that took a bigger current to fire them up. Your bulbs need a minute current to operate.
Not uncommon in cheaper, imported fittings these days, and I can't think of anything to stop it. It's just the way the fitting is made up.
On another point... your brown and blue wires are right, but (I assume the fitting is metal) you should also connect an Earth from the ceiling to the fitting. (Green/Yellow.)
If the fitting should ever "go live", if there is no earth connection and you touch it, there could be no more JJ.
I wish I could be more help.
LED bulbs I guess?
I've had this once before with ceiling downlights. Your little LEDs take a very small current to light them up. My theory is that you have a case of "Electrical Inductance."
Somewhere within the light fitting, the wires to each bulb cross over one another. This can create a magnetic field which "induces" a current in the wire going to the offending bulb.
Not normally a problem with old-type bulbs that took a bigger current to fire them up. Your bulbs need a minute current to operate.
Not uncommon in cheaper, imported fittings these days, and I can't think of anything to stop it. It's just the way the fitting is made up.
On another point... your brown and blue wires are right, but (I assume the fitting is metal) you should also connect an Earth from the ceiling to the fitting. (Green/Yellow.)
If the fitting should ever "go live", if there is no earth connection and you touch it, there could be no more JJ.
I wish I could be more help.
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