Hi,
I've recently had my flat re-wired (by a NICIEC registered electrician, and have the certificate to prove it :-)). Part of the job was to install new wall lights in the lounge. After the re-wiring I removed the wall lights to have the room re-plastered and have just finished painting it.
When I was replacing the wall lights, I was using a neon indicator screwdriver to fix the hanging bracket onto the wall and was quite surprised to see it light up. The cables run down through the wall from the ceiling, underneath the bracket (between the two fixing screws) and out of the wall about 0.5" below where the bracket sits. There was no connection between the bracket and the cable.
I then tested it with my (analogue) multimeter, which registered no current and a very low (< 1v) pd between the earth wire and the bracket.
Any ideas as to why this should be? The (RCD protected) lighting circuit was isolated by switching it off at the CU. The cables do run alongside mains cables for most of their length (I had all the cables routed along the tops of the walls to be hidden by coving as I have concrete floors and ceilings).
It's the fact that it was the fixing bracket, not the wire itself, that lit the indicator is what's bothering me.
Thanks for any suggestions as to what might cause this!
Cheers, Jon