70's Lamp

[sg2]

I have an old 70's lamp and i took the plug off it to use on something else.

Now ive done my bedroom up and i want to get the lamp working after also spending months getting the right bulb for it :s lol

However i went to put the plug back on and as you know on a standard plug there should be live earth and neutral,but for me there are only two cables and i dont know which is what.

The lamp is made by 'KREO CO. LTD' and is called 'ELL' - model NA-417

Id like some help on the matter. Thanks in advance.

[dothawkes31]

what colour are they?

[ELVIS68]

Are the cables coloured?

[sg2]

nah neither cables are coloured

[ELVIS68]

Wire them up, left or right....you`ll find out either way, although in this day and age having no earth wire is deemed dangerous

[tamborine]

put in a 2amp fuse for extra safety.

[sg2]

so basically just wire them up anyway and see how they go? lol
which should i try first?

[tamborine]

yea....just wire it up with no earth as some lamps dont require it. 2amp fuse & wellies should keep you safe.

[sg2]

haha thankss :) ill try it soon and let you know what happens

[tamborine]

you hope ;c)

[buildersmate]

"yea....just wire it up with no earth as some lamps dont require it. 2amp fuse & wellies should keep you safe"
Tamborine - this is just downright dangerous advice.
A 2A fuse is correct advice and avoids excessive current flow in a short-circuit situation between the 2 wires. The current will cut off earlier than if a larger fuse was fitted, and this will minimise the possibility of fire. It does absolutuely nothing to assist in the event of a live to casing fault, when an electric shock would occur if a human touched the case. Humans die from the passage of less than 100mA (0.1A) through their body - the fuse will remain unblown.
The key to this is 'what is the casing made from'. If it is ALL plastic - every bit of it - including the bulbholder, then you are relatively safe to ignore the earth connection and just wire it up using Live and Neutral. However the correct answer is that you should really have it assessed by a competent person - an electrician or at least someone that can assess the insulation performance of the casing material.

[scotman]

I have found something on ebay. This seems to be Japanese lamp mostly in ABS. I would suggest you get advice on this one before using it again.

[heathfield]

What's all the fuss? Lamp-holders have always been made for two-wire connection. You've only to look at your standard ceiling pendant. It's comparatively recently that e.g. bare brass lamp-holders, (of the type you get on some older standard lamps), now have to have an added earth connection by way of a little screw on the side. Should the lamp itself be made of metal, an earth connection will be found within the body of the lamp. Where such a lamp requires the bulb-holder to be earthed, (i.e. it's bare metal), it's done through metal to metal contact back to the lamp's earth connection .
If your lamp comes with only two wires, it's designed to be used with only two wires. Go ahead and fit the plug.

[heathfield]

Read the answers, Zacs!