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Electrical

Ceiling light stopped working after water damage... now there's no power to it?

Anonymous user 15/03/2024 - 2.43 PM

Hopefully someone can give me some advice... I'm not adverse to doing electrical work, and connecting wires is no biggie, but this one has me scratching my head... I've got a ceiling light which worked ok untill the radiator upstairs leaked and there was water pouring through the light hole. I turned everything off, and had not turned the light in for a good few days, if not weeks to let it dry sufficiently. Since I had tried to power it up again, the light would constantly flicker, and would mostly not be on (even though power switch was to "on"). It has not stopped working all together, and I've taken down the light to investigate. I've pulled the 2 wires out, and noticed that the circuit wire had broken off, so I've reattached those... however... the live wire that was originally plugged into the actual light fitting is no longer live... what does that mean? What can I do? The other lights which are part of the circuit seem to be working, so I don't really know what I need to check/do (all switches are "on" on the fuse box).

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2 Answers

LP CONTRACTS LIMITED

Rating: 3 out of 5

Sittingbourne

Hi, Regarding water in light fittings. It looks like water has got into the electric cable cores somewhere and has gone BANG! So the live has broken causing a loose connection making the light flicker which has caused the loose connection to get hot and burn making no connection at all. You need to take the switch of and check the connections, take the light fitting apart and check the connections, check for where does and does not have power. Then disconnect and do a continuity test (beep test with whatever equipment you have such as a multimeter) between both ends of 'switch out' 'switch return' 'live in' 'live out', also check the neutrals and earth's. Double check everything you have done first. Also check for a cable junction box near to the light fitting. Regards, Laurence

Answered25 October 2018

Anonymous user

After the leak has been repaired any water damage needs to be assessed by completing a test on the wiring in case there are any shorts present. This needs to be done before the power is switched back on. If all is ok I would replace the pendant for a new one. In your case you have lost the power to the live side of the light. The switch needs to be checked to ensure it is working or incase of any lose connections. This would cause a problem with the power to the live side of the light. But I would always get it checked by a qualified and electrician as you would get a cert for his work. Hope this helps thanks

Answered26 October 2018