Ceiling find .......

So I've been trying to trace the cause of fuses going in a 1960's house with 1 lighting circuit. Wiring varies from 1960's to post 2003. Junction boxes galore - some accessible some not!

When dropping the downlights in the dining room I came across this:



That cable has been well and truly mangled and I can't change it as there is a inaccessible junction box - unless I cut a hole in the ceiling.........

My "lighting circuit tripping" call today was some TW@T had connected an air conditioning unit to what had previously been a ceiling fan, from the lighting circuit.

This was commercial installed by an AC company.

Murdoch said:

So I've been trying to trace the cause of fuses going in a 1960's house with 1 lighting circuit. Wiring varies from 1960's to post 2003. Junction boxes galore - some accessible some not!

When dropping the downlights in the dining room I came across this:

View attachment 10336View attachment 10337

That cable has been well and truly mangled and I can't change it as there is a inaccessible junction box - unless I cut a hole in the ceiling.........

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What on earth has happened to that? It looks like it's been caught in a rotating machine,  --- but how?

Geoff1946 said:

What on earth has happened to that? It looks like it's been caught in a rotating machine,  --- but how?

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Lord knows it a real mess 

Cable coiled up above ceiling, got tangled in hole saw cutting the hole for the downlight as it broke through?

Edison Screw lamp and they just kept screwing.

Definitely wrong rotation phase  . . . 

Bruspark said:

Definitely wrong rotation phase  . . . 

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Ah, it is so obvious when someone with years of experience and knowledge imparts their wisdom. It is clearly a 'Phase Rotation' problem!  Easily overlooked by those unfamiliar with the importance of verifying all aspects of a circuits characteristics prior to energising!  So often a complex concept difficult to visualise, and yet again a practical example of the usefulness of the forum for sharing knowledge and experience.

Doc H.    

ProDave said:

My "lighting circuit tripping" call today was some TW@T had connected an air conditioning unit to what had previously been a ceiling fan, from the lighting circuit.

This was commercial installed by an AC company.

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We were once sent some pictures by an AC company we work alongside quite a bit, of an installation at a site owned by a organisation who is a mutual customer of ours,.The pictures showed an installation at one of the sites by another firm who is a combined AC and electrical contractor found when they were doing some servciing on site, I'm not sure why they were looking for the circuit in the board, but they were, and could not find it, they traced the armoured back and found went into the roof space, the armouring was cut back and taped and the inner cores, went (poorly - you could see inner insulation) into a joint box on the general ring circuit. It wouldn't have been diffuclt to get back to the board at all, I expect that they didn't fancy the hassle of trying to get a federal stab-lok breaker* and returning to site

(* Later generation stab-lok - 60898 devices manufactured by square D, rather than old skool federal with the black bakelite type 4 breakers)

Murdoch said:

t as there is a inaccessible junction box - unless I cut a hole in the ceiling.......

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Ooooh    It looks like lath & plaster  Murdo   that will be a mess . 

Evans Electric said:

Ooooh    It looks like lath & plaster  Murdo   that will be a mess . 

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Well spotted , and I think the suggestion of the cable being caught by the hole saw is pretty good too.

Interestingly, where the unaccessible junction boxes are is plasterboard ..............