Help! Trying to fix a light but I'm a noob

Lothaar v2

I've no idea what I'm doing when it comes to electrical stuff.

The main light in my front room stopped working a while back. It's a decorative light fitting with a few individual lights (tiny little bulbs) on it.

All other downstairs lights work fine, so I don't think it's an issue with the fuse.

I opened the fitting to inspect it and I can't see any obvious issue. The one thing that it *might* be is the earth wire, which is too fat to fit into the little plastic connector thing to make a connection. But I sort of squashed it together so it'd fit... and it seems to be connecting. Still no light.

I don't know what else to check. And I don't know if I've checked the above things properly!

Can anyone help me get my light working?

Youngblood.III

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

I've no idea what I'm doing when it comes to electrical stuff.

The main light in my front room stopped working a while back. It's a decorative light fitting with a few individual lights (tiny little bulbs) on it.

All other downstairs lights work fine, so I don't think it's an issue with the fuse.

I opened the fitting to inspect it and I can't see any obvious issue. The one thing that it *might* be is the earth wire, which is too fat to fit into the little plastic connector thing to make a connection. But I sort of squashed it together so it'd fit... and it seems to be connecting. Still no light.

I don't know what else to check. And I don't know if I've checked the above things properly!

Can anyone help me get my light working?

No real need for the earth to be connected, unless is a metal light...there would be a terminal on the metal part.

Edit; Check the switch for loose cables, lights have no fuses but is connected to a mcb, check to see if it is tripped.

TheChizler

Obvious, but I presume you checked the bulbs?

Lothaar v2

The fitting is metal, yeah.

Check the switch? So unscrew the switch and make sure nothing's loose? I'll try that, thanks!

I didn't check the bulbs per se... but some individual bulbs were gone in the past and it kept working. Last time it worked, most of them were on and then it just stopped working altogether.

Youngblood.III

Be careful if a cable is loose, it may pop out... risk of a shock!!!

H3llR4iser

I assume the light is a fixed fitting, directly connected to the mains wiring rather than having a plug.

Your best bet would be the switch, especially if it is of the dimmer type - they simply die sometimes. If that's the case, you need a new one.

Remember to always disconnect power before rummaging around, and never short circuit wires - as a rule of thumb, cables of different colours should never come in direct contact with each other.

TheChizler

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Remember to always disconnect power before rummaging around, and never short circuit wires - as a rule of thumb, cables of different colours should never come in direct contact with each other.

And if you weren't aware of this before OP I'd recommend getting someone with experience to help,