New outside light

[PaulCa]

Hi, looking for some advice.
We purchased a new outside sensor light to attach to the house wall by the side door.
Wiring is already in situ since the house was built and runs to a two gang switch just inside the door.
We connected the light but only got a very dim light from it. After changing the settings on the fitting we still could not get it to work properly. We sent it back and purchased a new, different light.
We have connected and attached this light to the wall and this one just doesn’t work at all!
Thanks for any help.
Paul

 

[ETAF]

some pictures may help here

Wiring is already in situ since the house was built and runs to a two gang switch just inside the door.

has this ever worked in past
Do you know what the purpose was , is it for a mains supplied light - or some other device

Wiring is already in situ since the house was built and runs to a two gang switch just inside the door.

And they did NOT fit a light - How was the cable left outside ?????

 

[PaulCa]

I’ll send some pics in a bit.
We put a light up just after we moved in 10years ago. The wiring was for the purpose of mains suppoied outside light. The light never worked with the sensor but if you turned the indoor switch on and off twice it would light up. This was a feature of the light.
The builders did not fit a light, the cable was left in a black plastic circular box to protect it.

 

[ETAF]

do you have a voltmeter / multimeter ?

Yes i used to have a outside flood light like that , where turning on/off so many times did various things to the light

 

[PaulCa]

I don’t have a voltmeter/multimeter. I can probably borrow one from someone!

 

[ericmark]

Typically one has permanent line, switched line, neutral and earth to outside lights, some don't have permanent line. To identify wires often wired using the phase colours, easier to work out than having two reds or two browns, but there is no colour code for using three phase colours on a single phase supply, so either you need to test, or investigate.

So pictures of the lamp end box and switch connections are a good start. You are braver than me, I want my trusted meter

at my side so I know safe to work on, the clamp on is likely the best option as no option to get selector dial wrong and get a short circuit, OK mine not the cheapest at around £35, but it does have non contact volts, and works AC and DC amps down to 1 mA the cheaper options often do not measure DC amps. But as DIY likely you don't need DC amps.

 

[ETAF]

@

ericmark​

is this the one you have , i may purchase that

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UNI-T-Resistance-Capacitance-Multimeter-Temperature/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.v-4daZL-Jm2tzpja0_KnieLQJ1b0_zdJMqt8sg3pC6r-G_KOgpyzUFFIGYrhJtn0cIWhzMpZmWJJUNdWu-QPYRKjw9bfdvymSNsJzZtvgPGZdqCmuOoMc8JNn5-OHXpHxG59EgIPmjupk24eF1eo0CSKqCmV0AlDmtCYwGJnk4TDyOLLMQhLcfxKrrEVMyVqONMn8tFJUQ5Qz7PKwqLYHiuOs-6_oZJ5qRqOmRfgOqiPX1l7xVvCSlTxy7SYKJlSmmvSwfSFog3yp-l8rBEHW867M6qTQWEoNAXQ1nSWhmc.QxKPRFwDsr6kJ_kZlROHGeaJ2HKUxyKJN95UwgcfTYw&dib_tag=se&keywords=clamp%2Bmeter&qid=1711801860&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

they have a similar one for £16

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PLYY8RJ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?pd_rd_i=B07PLYY8RJ&pd_rd_w=8RwcR&content-id=amzn1.sym.7b0d8b34-54be-4fd2-9baf-2d658b11dc53&pf_rd_p=7b0d8b34-54be-4fd2-9baf-2d658b11dc53&pf_rd_r=MPQB869543X0TWP8YMJ4&pd_rd_wg=2dnLj&pd_rd_r=ab928746-5c5b-48ae-90c7-80eb4dc1946b&s=diy&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

 

[EFLImpudence]

Not sure of the difference betwee D and E of the first link.
I have the UT210E and it is very good..

The £16 one cannot measure DC current.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Ah, it seems the D also measures frequency and temperature.