Adding an extra light fitting

[silver1011]

Right, here we go, I have a bedroom with an airing cupboard in it.

 

I'd like to add a light fitting inside the airing cupboard that turns on and off with the ceiling light in the same bedroom.

 

Up in the loft above the current pendant it is wired up in a common loop-in format, in that there are three cables coming in/out of the pendant.

 

One goes off to the wall switch, another is the supply and the third is the feed to the next light in another room.

 

My plan was to tap into the existing cable in the loft, add a junction box and then run a new cable to the new light fitting in the airing cupboard.

 

However I am unsure which cable I need to tap into, and at which point to tap into it.

 

I assume I can rule out the cable to the switch. This is left well alone?

 

This then leaves the supply cable and the feed cable to the next light. Unfortuantly I'm unsure which is which, without lifting up a load more loft insulation.

 

I don't want to add the junction box where it won't get power, or add it where it isn't operated by the switch, likewise I don't want it permanently lit!

 

Looking inside the pendant I could simply add the new live, neutral and earth wires to the same terminals that are currently feeding the exiting ceiling light but this to me seems a bit of a botch given that they look as though they are only designed to accept one wire each (apart from the earth)?

 

Any advice? Apart from phone an electrician 

[mac11irl]

That last line is what will be most frequently referred to

[MickA]

Thinking the same this week, just painted ours and it was dark in there. Missus said don't bother with a proper light, get one of those pull switch wall mounted led lights, job done.

Also of course we do have to ring an electrician these days for such work, do we?

[silver1011]

I'm just going to mount an LED strip light to the roof of the airing cupboard, one with a top exit for the wire so that it goes directly up into the loft where it will connect to the new junction box, something like this...

 

http://www.screwfix.com/p/sylvania-1500-t5-led-linear-top-entry-under-cabinet-linkable-lights-warm-white-22w/8688p

 

I only need to know which cable to tap into, the rest is all straight forward.

[YetiVRS]

You need the switched live from the light switch and the neutral and earth from the mains feed, the normal way to do what you want is to connect inside the original light fitting but to be honest it does sound like you need an electrician.....

[silver1011]

Hmm, OK, that makes sense.

 

I did consider simply dropping the new cable from the loft directly into the pendant and mirroring the live, neautral and earth wires of the existing ceiling light.

 

I'll take another look at the terminals to see if they are big enough to take a second wire.

[SuperbTWM]

You will probably have space for the neutral but usually there are only 2 terminals on the other side, 1 for the switched live and 1 that goes to the lamp on the pendant. Have to see if its big enough to fit 2 wire in otherwise your going to have to use a junction box

[gadgetman]

You'll need an electrician for this.

Essentially all you can do as a DIYer is fit/replace items to existing fittings.

[Aspman]

http://www.lightingever.co.uk/pir-under-cabinet-lighting-wireless-motion-sensor-light-1800017-dw.html?gclid=CLK4lLbbvM8CFcaVGwodTBID-A

 

should ping on when you open the door.

 

Battery LED no wiring.

[drw8]

I did this to the upstairs and downstairs hall. Both had a single ceiling light but it was still quite dark, so piggy backed from the original ceiling rose and fitted a second one 8ft away.

 

Now have 2 lights come on when switching on either hallway switch.