Three wires in, two wires out

by **MatttS** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 2:12 pm

Hi! I have a lighting question:

My living room has a big metal lampholder hanging on a chain through a ceiling moulding. I'm taking this down and replacing it with a simple flex-plus lightbulb fitting. In the ceiling I find, not any of the switched ceiling roses usually described, but a simple connecting box where one cable brings three wires in: a red, a black, and a green/yellow. Three wires come out of it and go down the cable of the existing light fitting: they are connected blue to black, red to brown, and green/yellow to green/yellow.

My problem is that the new light fitting only has two wires, brown and blue. It's not metal, so I think it doesn't need to be earthed, but is it OK to leave the earth wire just ending at the connecting box? If not, what to do?

Any help gratefully received.

by **kbrownie** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:24 pm

You would expect a terminal for the earth cable to be terminated to, but as it is a plastic fitting it is not needed. You are quite right by assuming that it should be now terminated in to a connection block.
If there is more than one earth cable connect them all together.