I recently purchased a number of lights from Ikea which I'm trying to
wire up. My electrical system is loop-in, and I'm wondering whether
I've done the job correctly (it all seems to work), and more
importantly, safely. Here's what I've done:

Three red wires (live): connected to each other via a connector block
Two black wires (neutral): connected to N
Black/red wire (switched live): connected to L
Yellow/green wire (earth): connected to earth

I suspect the connector block doesn't meet electrical code, but is it
safe? I don't want to burn my house down!

Thanks in advance for any help offered!

In uk.d-i-y, Matthew Clement wrote:
I recently purchased a number of lights from Ikea which I'm trying to
wire up. My electrical system is loop-in, and I'm wondering whether
I've done the job correctly (it all seems to work), and more
importantly, safely. Here's what I've done:

Three red wires (live): connected to each other via a connector block
Two black wires (neutral): connected to N
Black/red wire (switched live): connected to L
Yellow/green wire (earth): connected to earth

I suspect the connector block doesn't meet electrical code, but is it
safe? I don't want to burn my house down!

If the list of wires had as its last line "Three yellow/green wires:
connected to earth", I'd have said "good enough"; a connector block
is acceptable if it fits nicely in the back box of the fitting, which
then acts as the required non-flammable enclosure. Are you sure there's
only one green-yellow wire? Maybe (this is quite common) it's got all
three earth wires, I mean Circuit Protective Conductors, twisted together
in one piece of green-and-yellow sleeving? If so, you're basically in
OK shape (he says, hoping, and opining sight unseen, any impression
that this posting is anything other than random line noise is in the
fevered imagination of the reader, disclaim, disclaim, etc. etc. ;-).
If you can secure the connector block (maybe with a small cable tie,
say) to prevent it flapping about and risking the screws touching any
other bit of metalwork, so much the better.

If, on the other hand, there's only a single strand of earth wire,
you're in unsafe territory, as there's then no way for two of the
three cables to carry the earth onwards. B-a-a-a-a-d news...

HTH, Stefek

In uk.d-i-y, wrote:

........................... Maybe (this is quite common) it's got all
three earth wires, I mean Circuit Protective Conductors, twisted together
in one piece of green-and-yellow sleeving? If so, you're basically in
OK shape ...

I forgot to add at this point, "provided that all three conductors
carry on to the end and are all clamped together under the screw in
your fitting": it's *not* remotely safe practice for them to be just
twisted together and to have just one extending into the fitting.

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 20:51:10 UTC, wrote:

I forgot to add at this point, "provided that all three conductors
carry on to the end and are all clamped together under the screw in
your fitting": it's *not* remotely safe practice for them to be just
twisted together and to have just one extending into the fitting.

A *fitting*? Luxury!

Just replaced all the ceiling wiring in our lounge (four fittings
dangling from various parts of the ceiling). Did the last one on
Saturday (the most difficult as it's under the bath 'upstairs'.

Also the most horrific. An amazing pink aluminium 'shade' with a plastic
concentric ring thing at the bottom. Thin two core black flex with a
black plasticky cone covering the ceiling rose, and black plastic
grubscrew holding it in place on the flex....not quite at the top.
Peered underneath to find a a mass of wiring. FOUR T+E cables, one with
red outer sheath. Loads of ceiling paint splattered over a choc block,
three Screwits (!) and a load of earth wires twisted together. And some
insulation tape sticking the flex to the L and N.

Bad enough. After I'd removed it all, I remembered what I *hadn't*
removed. Securing screws. Because there weren't any. Weight of fitting
taken on those two taped joints, and the cables. No wonder the plastic
cover didn't reach the ceiling - the cables had pulled through the hole.

--
Bob Eager
rde at tavi.co.uk
PC Server 325*4; PS/2s 9585, 8595, 9595*2, 8580*3,
P70...

In uk.d-i-y, Bob Eager wrote:

A *fitting*? Luxury!

Bad enough. After I'd removed it all, I remembered what I *hadn't*
removed. ........

Eee-uch!! It's the proven existence of this kind of stuff which makes
offering half-guessed "opinions" on people's electrical queries a bit
fraught: there's every difference between adding on to a reasonably
competent fairly recent standard install, and one of these House Of
Horrors jobs! Nevertheless, the Panel here usually manages to infer
the competence of both inquirer and previous installer(s) by careful
attention to subtle clues ;-)

On 3 Nov 2003 20:39:18 GMT, wrote:

If the list of wires had as its last line "Three yellow/green wires:
connected to earth", I'd have said "good enough"; a connector block
is acceptable if it fits nicely in the back box of the fitting, which
then acts as the required non-flammable enclosure. Are you sure there's
only one green-yellow wire? Maybe (this is quite common) it's got all
three earth wires, I mean Circuit Protective Conductors, twisted together
in one piece of green-and-yellow sleeving?

You can sleep easy. As you rightly point out, there are three earth
wires which have been joined together and covered in a single
yellow-and-green sleeve.

Thanks for the help!