i have a red and brown wires only coming from ceiling, the light fitting im connecting to has a earth wire, what should i do, thank you

steve, September 2008

can anyone help me please?

i have 3 wires coming from the ceiling, all of them are black!!!

i have a multi meter but no idea how to use it.

the light fitting has blue, green and yellow and brown wires.

how do i use the multimeter to discover which wire is which?

once i discover which is which, how do i connect them the the light fittings blue, green and yellow and brown wires?

the multimeter seems very complicated with lots of different settings and a big dial in the middle.

i am a complete idiot when it comes to electricity so an idiots guide is what i am really looking for

thanks in advance

mark, December 2008

hi steve,
it is possible that the electrician who installed the switch originally will have just cut back the earth at the switch. strip back the cable at the switch slightly to see if it is still there - if it is and there is enough slack to pull some more cable through then you can just connect the earth at each end (don't forget to use some earth sleeve). if this is not possible then the only way to do it is to replace the cable. obviously you also need to connect the earth from the mains supply otherwise there is no point in earthing it anyway!

jason, September 2008

Thanks Jason
The fitting is a metel spot light which has a metal bracket attached to ceiling, the earth wire is connected to the bracket and spot light, instructions say that it requires earthing.

What do I need to do?
Thank you

Steve, September 2008

the earth is only required if you have metal light fittings or a metal switch. if it is plastic then there is no requirement to earth it.

jason, September 2008