4

I have two ceiling rose lights in my corridor, I have managed to replace one without the need of any wiring connector. I achieved this because it had one Live, one neutral and one earth connector. So all I did was connect L and N to the new LED light and cover the earth wire with some tape. The new LED doesn't require earth

However, I have now realised the other ceiling rose has several wires(a search suggested that this is due that being the main one)

I did some search and found that when it comes to converting these type of wires, you need connectors (wago connectors) I don't understand the purpose of these, are these connectors really necessary? Can't the wires that can't be used, just be taped?

I'm based in the UK

The first ceiling rose that I converted by taping the earth wire(this picture show the setup was) enter image description here

The following is the picture of the other ceiling rose, which I found to have too many wires on

UPDATE

This is the photo of all the wires after being removed from the ceiling rose setup. enter image description here

Marked in Yellow: 4 earth wires, connected in pairs - I'm thinking of putting this in a wire connectors of five

Marked in blue/purple: 5 wires connected to a 3 slot section(Neutral). these were connected in pairs of two black together, two(one blue and black together) and one blue that goes to the actual light - I'm thinking of connecting them to a wire connector of 5

Marked in green: connected to a 3 slots sections(Loop), all three were red wires were connected separately - I'm thinking of connecting them to a wire connector of three

Marked in red: three wires connected to a section of two(Live), one pair(consisting of a red wire and green/yellowish) and one red wire coming from the light - I'm thinking of connecting these to a three slots wire connector.

Do you think the setup I'm going for is correct?

Improve this question
8
  • I up voted your question for coming to ask about this instead of just doing it. Everyone living in your house, apartment, and possibly the whole block will greatly appreciate you doing so!
    – FreeMan
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:40
  • Thanks for adding the picture. I'm not familiar with UK wiring, I'm sure someone will come along who is. In the meantime, please post a picture inside the fitting of the 1st connection you've already done showing the work you've already done. It would be good to take a pic from a little further back showing both that connector block and the back of the light fixture with the wires coming out of it.
    – FreeMan
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:45
  • Also, when editing your post, if the pic is on your local computer, you can "link" to the local picture (the site will automatically upload it to SE's dedicated imgur account and host it there - it won't be hosted from your computer) and it can be embedded directly into your question so we don't have to click links to see it. That makes it easier on everyone.
    – FreeMan
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:45
  • 1
    I tried to embed from imgurl but it kept saying it's incompatible. So had to put the photo in my computer and upload it
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:52
  • 1
    Sorry my bad. I changed it now
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 22:53

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
4

Taping wires (rather than using proper wire connectors) is a recipe for burning your house down.

Whether it's just two wires or a whole bunch, a taped connection is prone to loosen, and arc, and start fires.

Don't know where you are in the world, but virtually any place with any sort of electrical code, that method will not pass. Regardless of code, you should be interested in not setting your house on fire. Interested enough to use a proper connector type available and approved in your part of the world, rather than "not understanding" but choosing to do electrical work anyway...

Improve this answer
1
  • the only reason why i did this on one ceiling was because there was only one exposed earth wire. can earth wire cause fire in this case?
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:43
2

NO, you cannot just tape electrical connections!

You cannot "just tape" any electrical connection! This will not meet the building/electrical code in any sane locale.

  • Electrical tape will degrade and fall off over time. You'll end up with loose wires behind your light fixtures. The least of your worries at this point is that your light will not work.
  • Wires need to be held tightly together. If they're not, any movement (yes, your whole house will vibrate slightly with every step you take) will cause the wires to wiggle loose. Loose wires will start to arc causing heat and, eventually, fire.

Wago connectors, wire nuts or other code-approved wire connectors are designed to provide a solid, vibration-proof mechanical and electrical connection between two or more wires. This will prevent the arcing mentioned above and prevent you from burning your house down.

When the wire insulation is stripped to the proper length, the connectors will also provide insulation preventing the hot & neutral from touching each other in the box, shorting out and causing a fire.

NO, you cannot just tape electrical connections!

Improve this answer
9
  • Thank you. That makes sense. I did tape earth wire, is this something that I can keep? However I will now add connectors
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:40
  • 1
    @Sgr The ground/earth connector should, at least, go into the connector block (as show in that picture you added).
    – FreeMan
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:43
  • what sort of connectors would you reccommend?
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:45
  • I'm not familiar enough with UK wiring codes to say for sure. Wait patiently, someone will be along who is. As a tip, you say "thank you" by clicking the up-vote arrow next to any (and all) answers that have helped you.
    – FreeMan
    Jun 5, 2020 at 12:47
  • I don't think twist on connectors are allowed in the UK. If you go to your local outlet that handles such items you should be able to get what is approved, e.g., one of the various WAGO connectors.
    – Jim Stewart
    Jun 5, 2020 at 14:56
0

Your job has been made harder by paint. Your live wire needs to go where the wire from the pendant that is brown goes, your neutral wire to where the wire from the pendant that is blue goes. The existing pendant wire seems to have no earth, but at the back of the picture I see some painted over green and yellow wires; add the earth connection where those go. And when I say "where the X goes" I mean the terminal block. Do not attempt to form a junction with insulation tape.

Improve this answer
6
  • I had replaced the first pic, for some reason I uploaded a duplicate. So the first pic is of the ceiling rose I've converted. As you can see(marked in yellow) there is only one earth wire. All I did was remove the ceiling rose and this way I had three wires coming from the ceiling. I connect the live and neutral to my new led light and insulated the remaining single earth wire with tape. It's a single wire, is it dangerous to tape that?
    – Sgr
    Jun 5, 2020 at 22:53
  • You should not tape it. If there is only a single hole with screw in the copper conductor block used for earth, you should feed the conductors of both wires into the same hole and screw them both together. If there is a spare screw plus hole, then use that.
    – abligh
    Jun 6, 2020 at 5:20
  • That will almost certainly be sufficient here but if not, the UK way is to use additional free-floating terminal blocks (called "chocolate block" or "chockblock" in the trade - google image search "chocolate block terminal") and join several wires to form one; you can cut it so there is a single joint. This is not what you would do in the US.
    – abligh
    Jun 6, 2020 at 5:26
  • how am I supposed to feed both wires for earth when there's a single wire for earth?
    – Sgr
    Jun 6, 2020 at 10:15
  • @Sgr if your new fitting has an earth wire, connect it to the existing earth wire as I describe (using the screw and copper block, not by taping). If it doesn’t (double insulated fittings do not need an earth connection) you need not connect anything to the existing earth wire. With the new photo we can see there are actually four existing earth wires.
    – abligh
    Jun 6, 2020 at 17:53
0

No you must connect the wires that were connected with a suitable connector not tape. The reason one rose had more wires than the other rose is because one was end of the line. Lighting circuits are not normally a loop. And you still need to connect the earths as they will be going to the next lights and potentially earthing your back box at the switchenter image description here

I added a photo to help you

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.