Neutral has power on light

[Adrian Haslett]

Hello

Really need some help please. Today I changed a outside light with the old light working. Drilled 2 new holes for raw plugs and wired in new light live, neutral, earth and light does not work. Changed light, changed wire, etc and after hrs of confusion found neutral is faulty as it is live, tested by keeping live and earth in but running neutral back to good neutral and fine. How Can I have neutral having live current after such simple swap ?, drilled through cable by accident or something ?. Please help as worried that wiring is now unsafe. Happy to have electrician out from Essex if someone can assist. I work 6 nights a week and tenant in property, hence my worry.

 

[Adrian Haslett]

One thing I did note when light was working was switch would turn on light when in down position and swapping the COM and L1 around did not make any difference, does this assist in ideas or just mean a second issue ?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

forget that.

 

[Wilko]

Can I ask, what makes you think the light neutral is live? (Do you have a 2 pole tester?). Perhaps the light neutral is no longer connected somewhere. Could there be another junction box nearby that's been disturbed?

 

[telectrix]

if the N is not connected to the origin for any reason, it will have 240V sitting on the cable via the load. no current flow = no volt drop.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

My initial thoughts were that it’s not a neutral, but a switch line?

 

[Cadgey123]

And this Ladies and Gentleman is why You should have got an electrician in the first place.

Jobs probably already doubled in price now there is a fault. Good luck with trying to find to problem.

Post a picture please

 

[Risteard]

Get an Electrician. With a tenant in the house you certainly can't afford to be carrying out dangerous DIY work.

 

[snowhead]

Get an Electrician. With a tenant in the house you certainly can't afford to be carrying out dangerous DIY work.

I read it as the O.P is the Tenant

 

[Risteard]

I read it as the O.P is the Tenant

Perhaps. Reading it again it's not terribly clear either way.

 

[telectrix]

as OP wrote it, it's ambiguous ( for any plumbers reading this; that means clear as shyte)

 

[Jamie']

Picture might help, if all else fails I do live very close to Tilbury.

 

[bcm_spark]

I remember having to sort a light out for someone once who assumed all blacks were neutral and red lives

 

[Wilko]

I remember having to sort a light out for someone once who assumed all blacks were neutral and red lives

Still happens - friend of a friend asked for help with an internal light that tripped when turned on. I arrived to find the place had just been rewired - no certs and no "Electrician" . Oh dear

 

[Phil Thompson]

Had a call out last month, new fluoro wouldn’t work.

Turns out the neutral had broken at another light on way to the fuse box, discovered loop in and out neutral twisted to a flex going to fitting, and taped up. Both N cores and broken away where they were stripped.

135volts I was getting on the neutral at the replacement fluoro.

The light the neutral was broken at was fitted when the house was built in the early 60’s.

 

[Adrian Haslett]

sorry, was not getting updates to thread. ok, lets start. I am using a cheap finger live tester i.e stick finger on end version, but it works. when switch is turned on for kitchen light which is the one that the spur for the flood is taken from the flood glows dim and their is live at neutrol. it is 100% neutrol i.e correct wire and can see the switch wire and feed coming into junction fox with wires clearly labelled etc. When i then turn flood light switch on, switch live is live as expected and flood light blinks on and off with the kitchen light. i have left the lives and grounds in place and run a seperate neutral to nearby plug and everything is fine. i also have tested with cheap light tester mentioned above and their is live at the kitchen neutral when kitchen light is on which is not the case with any other downstairs light as i have checked. All wires are in correct places. I get a live at neutral at kitchen neutral even when flood light extension is de linked. which confuses me. As mentioned light was working and simple switch, so can only think link from kitchen to junction box is dammaged and will need to replace link. I have electrician no and he can only conclude same but said i can book and appointmdnt tomorrow if that does not resolve it because he has seen my work before and he knows he would be what he called compitant. Even though this is confusing the hell out of me.

 

[Adrian Haslett]

Sorry, the house is my Dads, he is in care home and tenant is in property. If this answers question as to my role.

 

[Adrian Haslett]

It is possible i suppose that their is somehow a junction box in between kitchen light which is where the feed to flood light junction box is taken. but i doubt that as only about 2 metres and why would you take a feed from light and then put in another junction box before feeding it to flood junction box.

My Dad done all his own eiring, rewired hole house and as I say, it waz wirking before changed light which was 2 holes for bracket and 2 cores i.e live, neutrol, earth. To explain how my Dad made a switch. He took feed from kitchen light to flood light junction box, which contains simple screw in blocks. He then took permant live from that feed and used that as live down to switch. With the black switch wire showing red sleeve at both ends i.e junction and switch which is in L2 port as shen in L1 it turns on ehen switch is down. This all seems correct so only thing i can conclude as switch live is connected and giving live when switch is on, is that feed from kitchen light to junction box is broken i.e screw etc gone through wire which is hard to beleive as only small screw from outside and cavity wall, already checked screws are not live.

If after night shift tonight i can find time to run a new temp feed from kitchen to flood junction, i will to see if resolves. If not i will call electricuan to see if can ckmd out within 24hrs, whuch I doubt as normally has months of work backed up. Can anyone give me a guide as to how much an electrician would charge to diagnose and fix as money is naturally a concirn giving lovely care home fees

 

[Des 56]

I can't make out clearly what you are suggesting, the kitchen neutral is live when switched on ?
If the neutral is live it means its lost its connection back to the consumer unit which will likely be via another light or at the terminal of the kitchen light

 

[Adrian Haslett]

Hello.

Yes, when using the cheap finger tester. Tge neutral on the kitchen rose is live i.e it is powered / tester lighting when you switch on light to kitchen. No other neutral is live in this way on any downstairs light as i have checked them. It works fine i e light turns on though but i noted this when fault testing why extension taken from it i.e flood light junction box is live on nautral. If neutral has lost its connection then in theory it must be last in chain before going back to CU otherwise others would have same issue ?. And considering i never touched that rose, cannot see why it has suddenly lost connection back to CU ?. And why does kitchen light work fine with this issue when flood taken from it does not work correctly i.e flashes on and off causing kitchen light to do same with same issue on neatral. i.e switch kitchen light = lights up. switch flood light on at same time and flood light blinks in and off and kitchen light goes dim.

You can see now why lost 2 nights sleep with confusion