Wiring a lightbulb

[Andy in Germany]

Beautiful Wife is off for the weekend so The Elder Son and I have been trying to put up a light in the living room: we've lived in this apartment for almost ten years now so we figured it was about time.

The idea was to take a piece of 'scrap' cherry wood, put three light fittings through it and fasten this to the ceiling. We've been sanding and cutting away in various places for a couple of weeks now: at one point the wood even had a tour of Stuttgart's tram system so we could drill holes big enough.

Anyway, today was the great day: we got everything to the apartment and tested the fitting: Nothing.

The voltmeter is silent, and I even put a light bulb into the connector to see if there was something wrong with my wiring. Still nothing.

Any suggestions as to why this might be (and yes the trips were on and we tried the switch several times) welcome. And if I want to see if a connection at 230v is live, how should I connect and set this voltmeter?

Voltmeter by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

 

[the_mikey]

To measure Volts and/or ohms you need the probes in the COM and the V OHM mA terminals. Set the meter to the Red Diode/alarm tester for testing circuit continuity, however this might not necessarily trigger for a lamp, as either there may be too much resistance or the lamp is not an incandescent lamp.

If the lamps are 230v, they should be wired in parallel, not in series.

If you have any photos of the light fitting and wiring it may help.

 

[stephec]

Serious question, not taking the pee but, if you don't know how to use that multimeter should you be playing with the mains wiring?

 

[irw]

Serious question, not taking the pee but, if you don't know how to use that multimeter should you be playing with the mains wiring?

^^This. If you don't know how the multimeter works, how did you know the circuit was not live before wiring to it?! Get a man in!

 

[Andy in Germany]

^^This. If you don't know how the multimeter works, how did you know the circuit was not live before wiring to it?! Get a man in!

I thought that may come up. In Germany a light fitting is three wires coming out of the ceiling: we have to do the rest ourselves. I've never had a problem before in seventeen years and a lot of new apartments, so I'm trying to see where I went wrong.

I don't go messing about with the wiring before switching off the trips, don't worry.

 

[Andy in Germany]

To measure Volts and/or ohms you need the probes in the COM and the V OHM mA terminals. Set the meter to the Red Diode/alarm tester for testing circuit continuity, however this might not necessarily trigger for a lamp, as either there may be too much resistance or the lamp is not an incandescent lamp.

If the lamps are 230v, they should be wired in parallel, not in series.

If you have any photos of the light fitting and wiring it may help.

The lights are in parallel, and your explanation of the voltmeter confirmed that it was plugged in correctly. I have to test electricalcables with clients on occasion to that isn't a new trick for me. What I need to know is, how do I test to see if this connection is live?

wires by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

Black: Live
Blue: Return
Yellow/ Green (separate connector): earth.

 

[User6179]

The lights are in parallel, and your explanation of the voltmeter confirmed that it was plugged in correctly. I have to test electricalcables with clients on occasion to that isn't a new trick for me. What I need to know is, how do I test to see if this connection is live?

View attachment 392439 wires by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

Black: Live
Blue: Return
Yellow/ Green (separate connector): earth.

Is there two switches in the room for the one light?, for some reason in my house there is two switches for one light and if one switch is turned to the off position the other switch does not work.

 

[Tim Hall]

The lights are in parallel, and your explanation of the voltmeter confirmed that it was plugged in correctly. I have to test electricalcables with clients on occasion to that isn't a new trick for me. What I need to know is, how do I test to see if this connection is live?

View attachment 392439 wires by Andy in Germany, on Flickr

Black: Live
Blue: Return
Yellow/ Green (separate connector): earth.

If the colours are as you say, put the probes in the black and blue. It doesn't matter which goes in which. Make sure you hold the insulated part of the probe.

 

[Andy in Germany]

If the colours are as you say, put the probes in the black and blue. It doesn't matter which goes in which. Make sure you hold the insulated part of the probe.

Well, officially they're as I said, but I'm getting a reading of 227v when the probes are in the return and earth cables...

 

[Andy in Germany]

Is there two switches in the room for the one light?, for some reason in my house there is two switches for one light and if one switch is turned to the off position the other switch does not work.

No, just the one. Installed by an electrician 9 years ago and never used since.

 

[Profpointy]

Well, officially they're as I said, but I'm getting a reading of 227v when the probes are in the return and earth cables...

Using meters can be a bit random on mains circtuits since the internal resistance of the meter is ao high you can get suprisingly high voltages between (say) neutral and earth. However 227 v does sound like a "live" wire albeit with a poor connection somewhere. Caveat: I'm not an electrician but good amateuelr knowledge of physics

 

[Andy in Germany]

Using meters can be a bit random on mains circtuits since the internal resistance of the meter is ao high you can get suprisingly high voltages between (say) neutral and earth. However 227 v does sound like a "live" wire albeit with a poor connection somewhere. Caveat: I'm not an electrician but good amateuelr knowledge of physics

Yes, especially as the 'live' wire isn't showing anything. I'd have thought though that the light would work even if the two wires were reversed (or alternatively explode)...

 

[irw]

Using meters can be a bit random on mains circtuits since the internal resistance of the meter is ao high you can get suprisingly high voltages between (say) neutral and earth. However 227 v does sound like a "live" wire albeit with a poor connection somewhere. Caveat: I'm not an electrician but good amateue knowledge of physica

227V AC is well within tolerances, whatever base Western European voltage you are getting!

 

[Andy in Germany]

227V AC is well within tolerances, whatever base Western European voltage you are getting!

But should I be getting that reading from the 'return' wire and not the 'live'?

 

[the_mikey]

Indeed, at this point it's not safe to assume any of these wires are what they say they are. It's possible the circuit is live, the neutral or return wire is actually LIVE and the Live wire is switching the Neutral in and out of circuit, that or the Earth is not Earth.