Ghostly light flicker

[thanos]

I recently fitted a backlite bathroom mirror. It has 1 circular tube and three smaller straight tube and the ballast inside and all these are pre-wired.
At night there is a ghostly flicker when it not switched on, this can only be seen at night(in the dark).
I think that the neutral has been used as the switch as i can see in a connecting box the blue looping back towards the switch.
I contacted the manufacturer but am still waiting for them to return the call from their technical department.
Can anyone tell me if the neutral has been used as a switch, if this is legal , safe?
Where i purchased it has offer to replace but am concerned that it will also be wired in this fashion.

[thanos]

Hello again,
Right the place where the backlite mirror was purchased from got another one in for me to replace, but this was also wired in the same way. If all these mirrors were wired this way people who have bought these are unknowingly wasting electric!
Still waiting for anyones thoughts on this.
Thanks

[Jimbo]

"Can anyone tell me if the neutral has been used as a switch, if this is legal , safe?".. Switching the neutral is not considered safe or legal. Some of the imported light fittings can be of very bad quality and construction. My advice is beware if your really worried get an electrician to give it the once over. Regards Jimbo

[Besoeker]

I recently fitted a backlite bathroom mirror. It has 1 circular tube and three smaller straight tube and the ballast inside and all these are pre-wired.
At night there is a ghostly flicker when it not switched on, this can only be seen at night(in the dark).
I think that the neutral has been used as the switch as i can see in a connecting box the blue looping back towards the switch.
If there is no neutral there would be no complete circuit so I can't explain what you have observed other than it might be afterglow in the phophors.


Can anyone tell me if the neutral has been used as a switch, if this is legal , safe?.

Being at home I have just the 16th edition at hand
If it breaks just the neutral, it contravenes 530-01-02.
Not safe. Not legal.

[thanos]

Thanks for your replies,
Unfortunately the switch is in a sealed part of the light and can only get to it to check the wiring by breaking the glued casing.
I can not prove that it definately is neutral switched without losing my warranty!!
The only site i found on the web after lots of searches for 'GHOSTLY FLICKER WHEN SWITCHED OFF' was an American site and their wiring is slightly different, although they say it's a wiring code violation to switch neutral there.
Does anyone have another explanation for this ghostly flicker when not switched on? Cause i can only find the neutral being switched being the answer.
The technical department eventually got back to me and assured me they wouldn't switch the neutral.
What else could it be? :?

[Besoeker]

Maybe the phosphors?

[thanos]

Just an update (if anyone is interested) on where i'm at,
I have replace the mirror from the supplier (Tile and Bath Co).
I wired it up and behold the same!!!!!!
But in this one I managed to open the switch and it is wired as follows.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/richiedavies/wiringdiag.jpg

[Besoeker]

If it's like that, it's bad and wrong but it still doesn't explain your problem.
A suggestion.
Run the thing for a while when it is dark.
Switch it off.
Observe that your flickering happens.
Turn off the breaker/remove the fuse feeding that circuit and immediatly observe what happes.
Report back.

[thanos]

OK, when switched off at the mirror it flickers in the dark.
When it is isolated via the fuse the flickering stops.

[Besoeker]

Then leakage current to earth.
Switch the live.

[thanos]

Then leakage current to earth?
Don't understand this, there is no earth inside this mirror to attach an earth.
It looks like the manufacturer are wiring this type of light up wrongly.
Think I'll have to wait for the manufacturer to get back intouch.
Hopefully this forum will be of help for anyone else that gets the same problem in the future.There is probably thousands of these lights out there and with out going into your bathroom with the light off you'll never know.
Thanks again.

[Besoeker]

Then leakage current to earth?
Don't understand this, there is no earth inside this mirror to attach an earth.

The fabric of the building is likely at earth potential.

[thanos]

That might be the case but surely if the light is wired in the way I've illustrated surely that would cause it as there is always power going to the units and only the neutral is switched?