Ceiling wiring

[warren.quince]

Good afternoon
I have bought a ceiling fan to install in our bedroom. Having removed the old light fitting I find I have 2 x 3 core wires (1 old colours and 1 new colours) and another single core wire in a grey outer.
I do not know what the single core is for and therefore do not know where to connect it to the ceiling fan
Any ideas gratefully received

 

[Murdoch]

Did you take any photos of the connections before you disconnected the old light?

 

[Andy™]

common sense would tell you to take note of the wiring before taking it all apart, but that seems a rare thing these days

 

[warren.quince]

Did you take any photos of the connections before you disconnected the old light?

I didn't unfortunately, I'm an idiot!

 

[warren.quince]

common sense would tell you to take note of the wiring before taking it all apart, but that seems a rare thing these days

Thanks Andy

 

[Andy™]

well now you need to figure out which cable does what. good place to start would be the switch

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Stripping back a bit of the grey sheath should reveal the colour of the basic insulation over the single wire..

Which, depending upon then age of the wiring will either be Red/Black/Brown or Blue...

Where Red or Brown would typically be Live related wiring..
and Black or Blue would typically be Neutral related wiring...

BUT a word of caution...
It is NOT uncommon to find the wrong colour conductor used on DIY domestic electrical work!

 

[kerching]

In the days of "singles and earth" we had an apprentice who roughed in the first floor of a house entirely in black. Only realised when we looked in back of van and there was an unused drum of red!
Another time networking a Ford main dealership, one lad used the 6 core instead of the 4 twisted pair as 'they are both grey'

 

[Murdoch]

I didn't unfortunately, I'm an idiot!

Idiot is a bit strong.

Next time take photos

This time it may cost you £50

 

[bryanh]

Time to call in a sparky i think, as with out test gear he has no chance

 

[Andy1733]

Lesson learned Warren. Call a sparky and get it done right.

 

[Walter_B]

It looks like you may have had a two way circuit there previously....but..?????
if you only want the fan running when you have the switch 'on' then wire up the red and black to the L1 and N on the fan and make sure you isolate all other wires. They will be the original. ...

Then I gave up - again (3rd time!!).
There are so many questions as to what you have and what you want I then deleted the lot!
It could be a 'stolen neutral", especially if you have a staircase, but then again the sheathing might be correct and it's to provide a 3 core and earth to a circuit, as mentioned above......or.....????
Without checking properly with the correct tools & knowledge you could blow all sorts. We don’t know what you have, so I now go with the rest of the guys; spend the money, get an electrician, and get it l hookup correctly.
You should actually go the whole hog and get your whole system checked just to make sure there are no other "hidden gems" lurking about.
You're prob taking around £70 up for that suite of tests dependent upon where you are

 

[warren.quince]

Stripping back a bit of the grey sheath should reveal the colour of the basic insulation over the single wire..

Which, depending upon then age of the wiring will either be Red/Black/Brown or Blue...

Where Red or Brown would typically be Live related wiring..
and Black or Blue would typically be Neutral related wiring...

BUT a word of caution...
It is NOT uncommon to find the wrong colour conductor used on DIY domestic electrical work!

Many thanks
Based on your assessment the light and fan are up and working.

Thank you