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enter image description hereOld flat in Melbourne, Australia. When i took out old fitting it had a red wire in joined to red out, a brown and a black one. One terminal had nothing. Have bought new fitting but it seems to be different. How do I know which one goes where?

img_0153. original img_0154. new fitting

Think I have done it!! Simple: Red into "L", Brown & Black - Live and Neutral. Does that seem right?

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    Photos of the fixture connections, old and new, and of the ceiling box wires would help ensure you are given accurate instructions. – bcworkz Nov 14 '13 at 2:40
  • Thanks for the photos, the situation is much clearer. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with this sort of fixture. Still, I'm certain the two reds once again go to the 'L' terminal and the 'E' (earth) terminal remains empty, as you have no grounding wires. Beyond that, it seems the black and brown should be attached in the same relationship as before, but I can't say for sure. – bcworkz Nov 15 '13 at 0:13
  • Is that a bit of bare copper on the black wire where it comes out of the sheathing? You might want to pull a new cable. – Chris Cudmore Nov 15 '13 at 14:45
  • @ChrisCudmore Hard to say. The color resembles copper, but it looks like the diameter is that of the insulation. – Kaz Nov 15 '13 at 18:25
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What you call brown is actually "white".

Likely black/red carries mains power. White/red is a leg down to the switch. L is Load. E is Earth. Your bulb should span from the black (neutral), to white (switched hot).

You can verify this all with an inexpensive non-contact voltage tester. See also https://diy.stackexchange.com/a/28019/5960

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  • In the states we'd be picky about which terminal got neutral and which got switched hot. I'm not sure how you figure out which is which from that photo. – Bryce Nov 17 '13 at 6:45
  • Thanks guys. Will become an avid poster on this site as I am about to renovate. – Dave Hudson Nov 18 '13 at 1:50
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Warning I am not an Electrician and it is illegal in Australia to do your own electrical wiring.

Assuming this is the batten holder or light fitting.

The L Terminal stands for Loop it is not connected to anything it's purpose is to connect multiple wires together in this case the Active (Hot) wires.

The Terminals on the sides which had the Black and White/Brown? wires are the live terminals they can have either the Neutral or Active (Hot) wires and the last Terminal is the Earth Terminal.

The Colours of the wires would be as follows Black is the Neutral wire (sometimes Blue) Red is the Active or Hot wire (Sometimes Brown) and the White (brownish?) wire is the Switched Active (Hot).

https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/Toolbox/electrotech/toolbox1204/resources/04diagrams/04lighting/05loops.htm

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