Fitting a new length of flex between a ceiling rose and its lamp holder involves nothing more complicated than unscrewing the cover of each component, disconnecting the old flex and fitting a new length in its place. It's easier than wiring a plug.
Safety first
As always wherever electricity is concerned, you must always be very wary, and don't attempt anything more complicated on your own - leave it to the professionals if you're remotely in doubt.
You are not allowed to carry out any work which involves adding to or altering any electrical circuits - the Part P regulation put in place earlier this year dictates this.
Additionally, there are certain areas of the house, such as the kitchen and bathroom, where you're not allowed to carry out even minor work - read the full list of guidelines here. Since 1st January 2005, this has been the law.
1. Turn off the power at the consumer unit, remove the fuse for the circuit and check that the circuit is dead; turning off just the light switch will not isolate the rose safely.
Then unscrew the rose cover. If it's stuck fast with paint, run a knife around its base to free it.
2.Let the rose cover slide down the flex, and make a note of which flex core goes to which terminal. Undo the screws securing the flex core wires and unhook the cores from their anchors.
Lift the lamp holder and flex down. Discard both if you are fitting a new lamp holder.
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3. Cut the replacement flex to the required length, and strip about 40mm off the sheath from one end.
Prepare the cores and connect them to the two lamp holder terminals. If you have a metal lamp holder, connect the flex earth core to the earth terminal on the lamp holder.
Then hook each core round its anchor and screw on the lamp holder cover. Make sure the skirt is tight.
4. Strip about 50mm of sheath from the other end of the flex and prepare the cores as before. Thread the flex through the rose cover, checking that it faces the right way.
5. Connect the flex cores to the rose terminals and loop each one over its anchor. With three-core flex, take the earth core to the rose's earth terminal.
Then fit the rose cover. If the cores are too long and can be seen when the cover is on, disconnect them, shorten them slightly and reconnect them. Replace the fuse, restore the power, and test the light.
