Electrical

[info_removethis_]

Hi

I am completing a project started before Part P came in with the consent of my planning officer.

I have extended my upstairs lighting circuit by a couple of fittings in the loft.

Workmen have been in and out and when I came back home today I found none of the lights work.

The RCB hasn't tripped.

There is power (according to my detector) running through all lighting supply cables and flex. That is true when switches are turned on and - this is the weird bit - is also true when the switches are turned off.

i.e. the circuit seems to be in a permanent stat eon 'on', although no bulbs light up.

Any ideas - I have disconnected everythign I can think of one by one and still the problem persists!

Cheers

Rob

[A.Lee]

Lighting circuits can be hard to find the cause of a fault, as they are all connected together, with a spaghetti mix of wires in each light fitting.There is (on many circuits) a live feed to the fitting, whether the switch is on or off.

I think I'd start by going round each switch, and testing for voltage at the switch with a multimeter. When you find one with no voltage, then the fault will lie with either that fitting, or, the previous or next one along. You'll need to trace which route the wires take to see which way they run. It is likely to be 1 or 2 wires that have come loose inside either a light fitting, or a junction box.

Also, you dont sound too clued up about lighting circuits, so maybe you should get someone in to sort it for you, rather than risking a shock? Alan.

[dennis]

What happens if you disconnect your extentions?

You can't diagnose faults using a voltage stick. But at a guess.. no neutral, look for a damaged cable between the fuse box and the first none working light.

[Frank Erskine]

I still have unfinished projects from ca. 18 years ago... :-)

Mustn't rush these things.

What's your 'detector'? If you mean, for example, a neon screwdriver, that can be very misleading unless you can interpret a full glow as opposed to a mere glimmer. Also, a neon only looks for the 'line' (live) side of the circuit - you may have a fault in the neutral.

Check the neutrals...

[Lobster]

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the system, the Part P rules specified an amnesty of ISTR 6 months for projects underway when the new regs came in - so any exemption on that score is long gone I'm afraid!

David