Swapping existing fitting for Ikea Lights

jimpixel

Edit: unfortunately, I cannot post images because I am a new user. This makes me sad.

Greetings people of Boards,

At the risk of completely embarrassing myself (a good alternative to electrocuting myself), I'm here to ask a question about swapping out my existing light fittings with some Ikea fittings.

My Ikea lighting connector looks like below - having only connection for Live and Neutral (I am assuming I can add a wire on both sides of the plastic device to close the circuit?)

That would cover both blue and brown cables that are in my existing light fixture.
However, the earth remains.

I don't know anything about electronics and so I would like to know - what is the correct way to cable this light?

colm_mcm

Most Ikea lights tend to be plastic and don't usually use an earth.

jimpixel

Thanks for the response. In that case, what is the correct thing to do with that cable?

colm_mcm

I would just cover it in insulating tape, but I'm not an electrician.

aido79

jimpixel wrote: »

Edit: unfortunately, I cannot post images because I am a new user. This makes me sad.

Greetings people of Boards,

At the risk of completely embarrassing myself (a good alternative to electrocuting myself), I'm here to ask a question about swapping out my existing light fittings with some Ikea fittings.

My Ikea lighting connector looks like below - having only connection for Live and Neutral (I am assuming I can add a wire on both sides of the plastic device to close the circuit?)

That would cover both blue and brown cables that are in my existing light fixture.
However, the earth remains.

I don't know anything about electronics and so I would like to know - what is the correct way to cable this light?

No offence but I can see this turning into a case of you joining all of the browns together and all of the blues together, putting them in the 'the plastic device' and then coming back to ask why your lights don't work properly.

You need to know which wire is switching the light on and off and which supplies power to the other lights on the circuit. You might be better off employing the services of an electrician.
What you are doing has nothing to do with electronics by the way. It's electrical work.

jimpixel

Got sorted thankfully - was pretty straightforward. My only real confusion was lack of earth for new light / it being double insulated.


Thanks for your input all the same aido79, much appreciated! Unfortunately, I'm not well educated enough in the field to hold something as high as a diploma... I suppose thats where they would teach you what the plastic device is called. I'll have to read up on that!

I'm sure there are many more highly skilled tasks for electricians out there rather than wiring household lighting

aido79

jimpixel wrote: »

Got sorted thankfully - was pretty straightforward. My only real confusion was lack of earth for new light / it being double insulated.


Thanks for your input all the same aido79, much appreciated! Unfortunately, I'm not well educated enough in the field to hold something as high as a diploma... I suppose thats where they would teach you what the plastic device is called. I'll have to read up on that!

I'm sure there are many more highly skilled tasks for electricians out there rather than wiring household lighting

You would require a trade certificate rather than a diploma to be an electrician. The "device" you are referring to is a connector block I would imagine so not really a device as such.

There are definitely more complicated tasks out there for electricians but if you mix up the switch wires and the feeds then you will actually make replacing light fittings more complicated than it needs to be.
I would suggest marking the switch wires before disconnecting the old lights.