Hi, i'm Trying to fit an IKEA bathroom light and my house has the old wiring colours of red & black where as the ikea light use the new system of brown, blue and green/yellow for earth.. here's my problem.. The wires coming out of the ceiling are 2 red and 2 black.. 2 red wires connect into one terminal in the back of the existing light socket and the 2 black wires connect into seperate terminals..

So as i've know red is live and the 2 red wires connect to the live terminal of the ikea light but what about the 2 black wires? at the moment they connect into different terminals how do i know which to connect where.. thanks for any help you can offer..

tony, August 2008

Hi Tony,

sounds like the 2 red wires are permanent lives. (these connect together and not to the blue or brown of the light fittings). One of the black wires is a switch wire (live) from the switch, please look behind switch ( It may also be marked with a small tag of red tape). you may need to prove this with a mulitmeter. This should connect to the brown wire. The remaining black wire is the neutral, and should connect to the blue wire. green and yellow connect together

Sparky, August 2008

DO NOT connect the 2 red wires to the live terminal of
the ikea light. these are permanently live
(it wouldnt turn off), what you need is the switched live.
the reason the 2 black wires connect to different terminals
is one is neutral and the other is the switched live.
find which is the switched live ( i tend to use a screwdriver
that detects voltage and is available from most diy shops)
connect this to the brown wire on the light and the other black wire to the blue wire. dont forget to connect the earth wire.

gary andrews, August 2008