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Ceiling Light Being Weird - Any Ideas?

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joggerjayne | 08:25 Mon 17th May 2021 | How it Works
27 Answers
A few days ago, I bought a ceiling light from one of the Moroccan shops in The Lanes.

It's like a chandelier style. Bronze coloured metal, with seven chains. on each chain, there is a multi faceted glass shade. So (this is the relevant bit), seven bulbs altogether.

The wiring seemed really simple. My pal and I gave it a go.

When I took off the old light, there was a plastic circular thing. On the plastic circular thing, there was a plastic strip, with electrical connectors. There were several thick wires coming out of the ceiling, screwed into these electrical connectors.

The old ceiling light just had two wires (the Brown Live wire, and the Blue Neutral wire), screwed into the two outside connectors on the plastic strip.

Looked simple. Sooo ...

The new light also has the same two wires. We attached the wires from the new light in the same way. The new Brown wire, where the old Brown wire had come from. And the new Blue wire, where the old Blue wire had come from.

And it worked. But ... (here's the problem) ...

When I switch the light OFF, one of the bulbs keeps glowing (but very dimly).

If I start to unscrew the glowing bulb, it fades, and a couple of the other bulbs start to glow.

Could it be a wiring problem? Have we done something wrong?

The new light is quite heavy (it took both of us to hold it up). To support the weight, we cut a wire coat hanger, bent it around a piece of wood in the hole in the ceiling, and bent the other end into a hook. We hung the new light from this hook. Could this metal coat hanger be part of the problem? We don't think it was touching against any bare wires.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

J x
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If a light fitting is a Class II appliance then it is double insulated and does not require an earth connection:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appliance_classes#Class_II
The lights I recently fitted to my daughter's living room were of this sort.
Quite right Etch. Many electrical chandeliers are indeed "double insulated".
Unfortunately, many aren't.

JJ... look for the "double insulated" symbol anywhere on the fitting.
It's simply a square within another square.

https://www.google.com/search?q=double+insulated+symbol&rlz=1C1CHZN_enGB935GB935&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&;ved=2ahUKEwiB3rn_ztDwAhXNOcAKHZgMBU4Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&;biw=1344&bih=726
@joggerjayne - if the instructions that came with your light fitting state that it is Class II then you don't need to worry about the lack of earth connection.
Just buy fork handles. :0)))
It sounds like the LED,s are 'ghosting'...a common problem with some cheap lamps. Try replacing them with a better product..i.e. Megaman or Crompton.If the problem persists call a registered sparky in to test it out.
-- answer removed --
TB sounds so knowledgeable! And so well explained (ps I’m married to a sparkie )

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