LAST UPDATED: 15th January 2023 by The Editorial Team

Summary: Step by step guide and video showing how to wire a ceiling light, replace a lampholder, replace flex and fit a ceiling rose.
Contents
How to wire a ceiling light

Replacing a lampholder
- Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
- Remove the shade, frame and light bulb.
- Undo the lampholder cover and slide it up the flex to give you access to the screws connecting the cores to terminals in the socket.
- Release the cores and remove the socket.
- Feed the flex through the new socket.
- Attach the cores to their terminals again: brown to live (L), blue to neutral (N) and green-and-yellow to earth (E).
- Attach any grips securing the flex in place.
- Push the cover back down the flex and screw it onto the lampholder.

Replacing flex
- Prepare the new flex for connection by stripping about 40mm (1 1/2in) from the outer PVC protective covering at the end of the flex using a sharp knife. Avoid cutting or nicking the insulation on the colour-coded cores and separate the colour-coded conductors.
- The cores are connected to the flex connector by screw-down terminals. About 15mm (1/2in) of the colour-coded insulation needs to be stripped from each of the cores using wire strippers. With the coloured insulation removed, twist the strands of wire together.
- Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
- Remove the shade, frame and light bulb.
- Take off the rose cover and disconnect the cores of the flex from their terminals.
- If the bulb holder is metal, prepare the earth core by insulating the exposed core in a green-and-yellow sheath.
- Connect the new flex to the bulb-holder, following the instructions above.
- Thread the rose cover onto the flex.
- Connect the wires to the rose terminals: brown to live (L), blue to neutral (N) and green-and-yellow to earth (E).
- Slide the rose cover up the flex and screw it to the base.
Replacing ceiling roses
- Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
- Remove the shade, frame, and light bulb from the pendant.
- Unscrew the rose cover, and pull it gently away from the wall.
- Make a diagram showing which terminals the cores connect to.
- If you are simply changing the rose cover, only disconnect the flex cores. Otherwise release all the cores.
- Unscrew the base of the rose.
- If the earth core is bare, slide some green-and-yellow insulating sheath over the end.
- Press out the hole in the rose base and feed the cables through.
- Fix the new rose base to the ceiling and reconnect the cores.
- Screw in the new rose cover.
Tools needed
- Insulated screwdriver
- Trimming knife
- Wire strippers
Materials needed
- Flex
- Green-and-yellow insulation sheath
Important note
The colour-coding system for electric cable changed in 2006, make sure you read Electric cable and flex to view the new information.
How to fit and wire a ceiling light video
The below video shows how to fit and wire a ceiling light, change ceiling rose pendant and explains lighting circuits
Author
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