0

I am looking to change a new light fitting in cloakroom. The old wiring has a black wire with red tape around, which I think signifies a ‘live’ . I also have 3 red cables and 2 other black cables plus the earth. The new LED fitting only has a live, neutral and earth. Please see picture of old wiring. I isolated the system at the consumer unit and then, I wired up the earth to earth, the 3 red to a single choc block type connector ( not connected to new fitting) and the black ‘ live’ to the live and the other 2 black to the neutral. When I turned on everything back in, the LED are flickering like a strobe. I turned off and checked all connections for tightness but the same result.

Is my wiring correct.enter image description here

Any assistance gratefully received

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    Where on earth are you? Locale determines some wire color customs, so that's very helpful. I presume UK, but it could be elsewhere. Is this a picture of the new wiring or the old?
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 11:01
  • Is the fixture controlled by a dimmer?
    – JACK
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 12:33
  • Wiring looks ok, probably you just have "parasitic capacity" on your witring, add a properly sized condensor (across the lamp) and it should stop blinking. It happens quite often, specially with low-grade led lamps that with switch off it blinks.
    – DDS
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 13:20
  • Do you have a DMM?
    – Tony Stewart EE75
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 13:47
  • 1
    Did you buy the light in a retail shop, or is this a foreign mail order special? (almost anything shipped from the Amazon warehouse counts as "direct from China", the stuff doesn't even go through safety inspection, and the CE mark is faked).
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 17:33

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Thank you all for your comments and advice, I am in UK, the house is circa 20 years old but this is the first time the cloakroom light fitting has been changed. It gives me some comfort that I have wired correctly as such I have decided to return the light fitting and see if I can get some thing a bit better without the integrated LEDs. The switch is the standard cord pull on/ off. I will try again tomorrow when I have sourced a better light fitting and let you know if I need your words of wisdom! For now, thank you all, have a good evening...

Improve this answer
0

I believe you hooked everything up correctly. Where I live strobing LED’s were quite common with junk from china (don’t know how else to say it) there are some other possibilities as you did not mention the type of switch. If a standard snap switch , just 2 terminals no electronics off is good on strobes see JFC , if your switch is electronic like a smart switch or a dimmer the combination can cause strobing. If you see a glow from the led with the switch in the off position is the switch illuminated? The small current it takes to light the switch is enough to make the led glow in most cases.

So you may have done everything correctly if a standard snap switch consider returning the JFC , I look for fixtures and lamps approved by DLC design Light Consortium, they have to be built to higher standards and usually have a 5 year warranty.

Improve this answer
5
  • "just 2 terminals no electronics off is good on strobes see JFC". I understand the "standard toggle switch" comment about 2 terminals, but I'm a bit lost on the rest, especially "JFC". Can you explain further?
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 15:40
  • JFC = junk from china. Many items sold on the internet in my country do not meet minimum safety standards (it could not be sold in stores here) on top of not meeting safety standards it is many times sub standard quality. I mentioned DLC that certification is held my many Chinese company’s along with all the safety listings that is not junk, the stuff with no real certifications and no real warranty is my definition of JFC. You will find many others with similar opinions based on no safety certification by a 3rd party or agency. I did spell it out in the answer and then say how else to say it
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 16:01
  • Gotcha! I never equated the JFC with the earlier mentioned "junk from china". Your opinion on Chinese made products is somewhat... well known... ;)
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 16:06
  • @freeman Actually almost all my lighting is from china but it carries UL and DLC listings it is the internet only stuff I call JFC.
    – Ed Beal
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 16:13
  • Thank you all for your comments and advice, I am in UK, the house is circa 20 years old but this is the first time the cloakroom light fitting has been changed. It gives me some comfort that I have wired correctly as such I have decided to return the light fitting and see if I can get some thing a bit better without the integrated LEDs. The switch is the standard cord pull on/ off. I will try again tomorrow when I have sourced a better light fitting and let you know if I need your words of wisdom! For now, thank you all, have a good evening...
    – Bournville34
    Commented Sep 24, 2020 at 20:19

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

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