Spot light troubles

Hi, In my kitchen i have a spot light fitting which has 4 spotlights mounted on a chrome decorative bar ( cheapo from asda ).It has worked fine for couple of years now until the other night when i switched it on and it made a noise like a bulb popping and all the lights went out.but now i cannot get it to work.Checked bulbs,took fitting off and checked the connections,the fuse didnt blow,checked the wall switch and inside there is just 2 wires and they looked ok.
Does anybody have any ideas?
Cheers
 
Have just reached up to lights and put a mains tester screwdriver on the metal work of the fitting and it glows! is this normal? Could the light fitting really have developed a fault?
PS; can u tell im not a sparky?
Cheers Graham
 
Ok..

Remove the existing lighting unit and then test the earth wire with your neon...

If it still lights up then further problems need looking at.
 
Thanks,i presume if i touch the light fitting now( without turning off the power) then i would get a shock.Is that correct? Will have to look in the morning now. Thanks.
Graham
 
Thanks,i presume if i touch the light fitting now(
without turning off the power) then i would get a
shock.Is that correct? Will have to look in the
morning now. Thanks.
Graham

Not in the slightest my DIY friend!


You'll get 'a light' from a neon screwdriver if you touch your left breast with it! :O Never mind owt electrical!

Worst thing ever invented.

Buy yourself a cheap £17 multimeter from B&Q and test again, at the most you MIGHT get a few volts on a good circuit.
 
Not in the slightest my DIY friend!

Lol. Guess i must be.I,m an Engineer by trade and a Cabinet maker by profesion but if that makes me a DIYer then fair cop.
Thanks for help though
Graham
 
Have just reached up to lights and put a mains tester
screwdriver on the metal work of the fitting and it
glows! is this normal? Could the light fitting really
have developed a fault?
PS; can u tell im not a sparky?
Cheers Graham

its not that obvious on this forum.
 
sinewave

Posts: 3,551
Registered: Jan 16, 2005
Re: Spot light troubles
Posted: Apr 13, 2006 9:26 PM Reply


Thanks,i presume if i touch the light fitting now(
without turning off the power) then i would get a
shock.Is that correct? Will have to look in the
morning now. Thanks.
Graham

Not in the slightest my DIY friend!

Buy yourself a cheap £17 multimeter from B&Q and test again, at the most you MIGHT get a few volts on a good circuit.

So this is what Sinewave uses to test. I think this statement sums up everything very nicely indeed. JP.
 
"Buy yourself a cheap £17 multimeter from B&Q "

Go to Maplins and get one for a fiver!
 
I accept the flattery gracefully JP that you devote so much of your time in attempting to find a ***** in my Armour, but, I have to disappoint and go over your head as the following are my weapons of choice, and have been for the last few years!

This

And This
 
Dingbat your right mate. I bought a Maplin digital multitester for a tenner. Its well good. JP.
 
Pictures Sinewave mere pictures. They have no meaning to me whatsoever. I deal in electrics real time, in the real world, and percieve everything as is and not under Halcion Days type scenarios. JP.
 
Graham, the neon screwdriver is a very poor substitute for proper test equipment. However, it isn't entirely useless. If it's 'lighting up' on metalwork this can sometimes be indicative of a missing earth connection.
The earth core(cpc)might appear to be connected at the fitting, but then not connected at the other end of the cable.

This is sometimes indicated at light switches too - when a neon screwdriver is used on the fixing screws which are in contact with an un-earthed metal box (the open-ended cpc receives an induced charge due its proximity
to the live core).

So, before fitting the replacement, ensure that the earth connection is safe and sound. If doubt remains, seek further advice. . . .

Pb
 
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