Can’t get outdoor lights to work!

Hi all, 

to say upfront I am no professional and am very happy if the advice is “call an electrician”.

so here goes...I have some outdoor lights that currently don’t work. They are supplied by a mains box in the garage with 2 fuses - a trip switch and a 13amp one. 

The light switch in the garage has 3 switches. Garage lights (far left switch), outdoor lights on wall, out door lights in decking. The garage lights work fine.

the outside ones don’t. The wiring looks like a like comes into command (middle) then linked to another command (far right), the lights then go into l1 on each and the neutrals are all connected.

i have tried just connecting the outdoor wall lights and taking out the decking...didn’t work. I have switched the fuses in the box. I have also tried rewiring outdoor lights to the live that I know works...still nothing.

any other basic checks to do, apart from try to check the cable is still intact. I have a voltage pen on the way to see if that shows anything. 

Thanks

has this just started happening or have they never worked? start at the light to see if its got power. if not then work back. and by voltage pen i hpe you mean voltage tester or multimeter and not a deathstick screwdriver with a stupid neon inside it

is also common, not command

Andy™ said:

has this just started happening or have they never worked? start at the light to see if its got power. if not then work back. and by voltage pen i hpe you mean voltage tester or multimeter and not a deathstick screwdriver with a stupid neon inside it

is also common, not command

Click to expand...

I think he means a voltstick, only trouble with one of those, as you know is it won't show a missing neutral, well not in the conventional sense, as you say he'd be better with a 2 pole tester, or a meter.

Wdk said:

any other basic checks to do, apart from try to check the cable is still intact. I have a voltage pen on the way to see if that shows anything. 

Click to expand...

If by voltage pen you mean something like this...

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fluke-1ac-ii-voltage-detector-pen/85949

Then all I can do is wish you best of luck with fault finding...

They have limited... (very limited) functional use..

Something more like an approved type voltage tester would be far easier to prove or disprove what is or isn't live / connected. 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/kewtech-kt1780-s-ac-dc-voltage-tester/53370

Even a basic neon screwdriver is probably better than a voltstick/pen....

But really a proper continuity and insulation resistance tester is probably what is needed to verify the cable is still intact...

Guinness

SPECIAL LOCATION said:

If by voltage pen you mean something like this...

https://www.screwfix.com/p/fluke-1ac-ii-voltage-detector-pen/85949

Then all I can do is wish you best of luck with fault finding...

They have limited... (very limited) functional use..

Something more like an approved type voltage tester would be far easier to prove or disprove what is or isn't live / connected. 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/kewtech-kt1780-s-ac-dc-voltage-tester/53370

Even a basic neon screwdriver is probably better than a voltstick/pen....

But really a proper continuity and insulation resistance test is probably what is needed to verify the cable is still intact...

Guinness

Click to expand...

even one of these would be better than a voltstick for him

https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-voltage-tester/3516f