Old wiring

You give up to easy.

Does the earth wire have continuity? If so, and assuming you can extend the cable (which I've never had to do), you seem to be almost there. I don't see what a pro can do to sort out the muddle. He just has greater confidence that it will work. After all, a pro probably did what's there.

If the existing cable does reach to the new light fitting position there is no point dicking around with what is there and replace that cable with T&E up to presumably a junction box in the loft and at least you know that is right. Myself I would do the whole lot including the switch for the peace of mind but then it depends on how much patching up you are prepared to do.

Richard

It sounds like 6243Y ("2 way") cable; might there have been a second switch in the past? Extending is easy providing the joint, if buried, is either: soldered, crimped, or made with the push-fit Wago/Ideal connectors and suitably insulated. I would be more concerned about wiring outside the designated zones so why not chase out vertically and replace the cable?

Some thoughts: I suspect you'll find the earth wire if you dig above the switch. Also, you may find that the point where the cable to the light starts going off at an angle is where the light used to be.

I haven't checked for continuity yet. Even if it is ok, not going vertically up it is in the wrong place. I was hoping to get away with very limited redecoration, but the plaster will have to be channelled out to take the cable to where we want the fitting. I was hoping that a decent electrician could do it more neatly than I could, or maybe even drill or run conduit from the loft (there is good access) in which to run the cable. Add to that I want a 2-gang wall switch to replace the single one so that the wall lights and new ceiling light could be controlled separately. A 2-gang Quinetic switch and two receivers would also do the job, but might cost more.

Other than where it was required by law, I doubt this place has seen a professional. One particularly "amusing" example was the poor tv reception at one of the many sockets. Tracing the coax in the loft revealed a join in it. Two lengths had been taped together (in the manner of two fingers of one hand being taped together) for about 6 cm with insulating tape. The centre wires had been twisted (and soldered!) together, and the braids twisted together. The whole lot was covered in more insulating tape, although the centre wires poked through the insulation.

if you diy you'll gain skill & confidence.

it's really the filling afterwards that determines neatness.

In most cases that requires running new wire.

sounds quite normal. It's not mains.

NT

I doubt there would have been a second switch. There is a switch in the hall for the hall light, but you can just about reach the lounge switch from the hall switch! I guess I could go up in the loft and trace where the lounge switch cable goes to see if there is anything obvious at the other end of the cable. As to it being 2-way cable, the lounge switch wiring could have been, but I am puzzled by there being white insulation on one of the wires to the switch. I had a look through the DIY Wiki for wiring colours, but white wasn't mentioned.

I was trying to get away with as little redecoration as possible, but if i comes to it, and the current wiring is ok but just needs a few cm extension vertically, your idea would make sense.

The original lighting in this lounge /probably/ consisted only of a celling light, long since removed. Just to reiterate, the 3 wall lights:

All three are different styles and have different types of cable connecting them to power, suggesting they were fitted at different times..

...or perhaps by the same bin raider. AFAIK white has never been a standard domestic functional insulator colour, except for unpolarised flexes. The US uses black & white.

A pro may want to do a full rewire, as the CU & other wiring are unlikely to be compliant.

NT

I'd have thought one could trace the wire through though, there has to be a join somewhere. Brian

No doubt. The guy who lived here put a couple of solar heating panels on the roof over 30 years ago, and plumbed them in with the control circuitry to interface with the CH system. It was all disconnected many years ago, but the panels, wiring, and some of the pipes remained. I used to be concerned when I found odd lengths of ex-solar heating mains cable under the loft insulation, but have yet to find any which is connected at one end only...

AFAIK white has never been a standard domestic functional insulator colour, except for unpolarised flexes. The US uses black & white.

That's what continues to puzzle me. Where did those cables with white insulation come from?

The CU had to be replaced when we moved in to satisfy the insurance company. The regs had changed and the RCD trip current was lower, but the CU was obsolete and it was not possible to source replacement plug-ins. The wiring tests were apparently OK, but the electrician noted that the wiring was old (this place was built in 1965) and should be checked again if any problems came to light.

On the original matter, I've been up in the loft and access to the wall switch wiring and closely-placed (although unconnected to the switch) wall light is not anywhere near as easy as I thought. The roof is only a few tens of cm high there as the switch is on an outside wall, and the roof ends at the gutter on that wall. I think I'll get someone in a bit younger to do it. Is there any reason the strangely-coloured wiring can't be left in place and connected to new wiring providing it meets any wiring regs requirements, and is colour-marked correctly?

Red white and blue cores.

That is 1966 14th edition. Just as earths came into play on lighting circuits and the white was replaced with yellow.

Best of luck with it fella.

Sorry should have said "pre 1996"

Thanks for that info, Adam. I looked in the DIY Wiki under Wiring Colour Codes and Historic Mains Cabling, but there was nothing about cabling with those colours. There are some links on the Wiki pages to old info (such as to

there is now :)

NT

Sounds like a short-lived version of red/blue/white with no earth

Jeff Layman pretended :

White outer T&E cables (instead of the usual grey outer) used to indicate the work had been carried out by the local electricity company's contracting department.

Looks like it could have been.

The more I think about it, the more it looks like these were separate pieces of old 2-way cable used as 1-way. The piece in the wall might have been not so old as it had an earth wire; I haven't dug back far, but the wire to the wall switch does not appear to have an earth wire.