Garden Wall Light - not working

[ardentstart]

Hello,

Wondering if someone can help me with this mystery.

I want to install a new garden wall light.

There is a pre-existing junction box which is wired coming from the wall to a switch, which controls an existing wall light elsewhere. It has live, earth, neutral, and a switch wire.

I have mounted the new wall light and wired it into this junction box to share the live, earth and neutral via a connector block, but the lamp will not work.

I have double checked the connections and can detect power running through the new wire to the new lamp with a testing wand. I have also checked the bulb to ensure it works.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Attached is a diagram of the setup.

 

[AC Power]

I am an electrician.

From your drawing, it would appear your light has no neutral. Either the RED or the BLUE will be a switchleg, that is, it is energized ONLY when the switch is on. From your drawing, the yellow (from the junction box) will be your neutral.

#1 - Connect the yellow to the "neutral" lead coming from the back of your light. If the wires are colored (on the back of your light), it should be either a white or a blue.

#2 - Connect the red to the "line" lead coming from the back of your light. If the wires are colored (on the back of your light), it should be either a black or a brown. Cap the blue off (unused).

#3 - If the light comes, but does NOT go off, remove the red wire above (point #2) and replace it with the blue. Cap the red off (unused).

 

[ardentstart]

Hello, thank you for your reply! I have since solved the issue by wiring it to another wall light which was conveniently also near the switch junction box.

However, wow, I never considered the yellow could be the neutral. The yellow showed a wand reading only when the switch was on (I left the butt connector intact so never got a direct reading). I had assumed this was a switch wire which would act as live when on. (Breaking the live was also how I wired a safety cut off mushroom switch for a shed, so I assumed this was the same.)

On taking readings, only the live to earth produced a voltage, so I took it to mean perhaps only the live and switch wires were functional in that junction wiring and moved on.

Appreciate the reply!

 

[AC Power]

Your Welcome. The neutral will produce a false "live" reading with those inductive testers that your using. REASON: The live conductor's energy is flowing through the load and back down the neutral when the load is off or on. The neutral will produce a "live" reading when the current is NOT flowing.

Anyways, I'm glad you got it figured out.