2006-09-21 22:55:46 · 16 answers · asked by gary m 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
if you dont know that you should probably leave well alone and get an electrician in.
sorry i know its not very helpfull but you obviously dont know what you are doing and could end up electrocuting yourself or someone else or setting fire to the place.
2006-09-21 22:59:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If these wires are obviously for domestic wiring, they may be for a speaker or door bell.
They're possibly from a return switch. ie when you can turn a light on from either end of a room or controlling the landing lights from the bottom and top of the stairs. For this you need 2 lives, yellow should be 1 live, black should be the other, green should be the earth. Note I am covering myself with "should"!
If they are house wires they could also be power for ventilation. Where you have a permanent live and a switched live, say from a light switch to start a fan that continues for a while after you turn the light off.
Don't interfere unless you know what you're doing, but a mains tester is a good investment, if you know how to use it.
2006-09-23 01:46:01 · answer #2 · answered by davidcush2000 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If in the UK (Don't know about other countrties)
Black is neutral
Green is Earth
Yellow is a switch-wire (live)
This sounds like wiring in conduit where you have individual cables which is when you would have yellow as switch-wire.
If this is not the case I would strongly advise you get a qualified electrician in to look at it.
DO NOT TAKE ANY ADVISE FROM SOME OF THESE AMATEURS.
remember IF DEATH IS YOU AMBITION, BE AN AMATEUR ELECTRICIAN
PS new wiring codes now have Brown-Live, Blue-Neutral & Gree/Yellow -earth
2006-09-22 11:23:42 · answer #3 · answered by Jules 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The black is hot, green is ground, the yellow I wonder if it has not yellowed from white to yellow, anyway that would be neutral. I have seen some of them that look yellowed. You can turn the power on and with a meter from the green ground to the black you should read 110, from the yellow to the green you should read zero. Make sure you have set the meter to AC and and a voltage above 110.
2006-09-22 01:59:51 · answer #4 · answered by Thomas S 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If they are exposed single cables, they should be replaced with sheathed cable, or enclosed in conduit. Live should be red or brown, neutral should be black or blue and earth should be green/yellow striped. Yellow is an old phase colour (which should not be present in a domestic loft space) and should probably have been marked with red sleeve or tape to signify a live conductor.
MORE>> I assume you are in the uk, in which case ignore all references to 110 volts especially the reply below this one, we don't have white cores in uk wiring, but there was yellow. Now changed.
The short answer is that they need to be traced and tested properly by a qualified electrician to avoid any accidents.
2006-09-21 23:28:35 · answer #5 · answered by jayktee96 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The wiring colours, have changed extensively since first introduced. The last solid colour for earth was green.
This combination doesn't ring any bells!
Therefore they need to be tested.
Firstly are they live. Use a volt stick. Put it next to a source of power, flex lead, for example. Confirm it works then repeat on each of the cables in your loft.
I recommend, that you get a qualified electrician to test and change these cables if they are currently in use.
2006-09-22 12:21:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Kit... you can't have AC 'positive', because AC (alternating current) is sinusoidal. I think the term you were looking for was LIVE.
It might seem a trivial point to make, but electricity, although a good servant, is a very ruthless master and if you make a mistake (particularly with UK/EU supplies of around 240v ~) you can easily kill yourself or others, or, as some one already suggested, set a place on fire!
So my advice to the questioner is to get a qualified electrician to check things out - it's safer in the long run.
2006-09-21 23:26:20 · answer #7 · answered by avian 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You cannot be sure the person who put those wires in was an electrician or they may not be connected to anything. So, you should always check with a volt meter first.
2006-09-27 12:53:47 · answer #8 · answered by maria t 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pink is stay (imagine pink you're lifeless). Black is impartial. eco-friendly is earth. They were the former colorations. Now the colors are blue impartial (first portion of impartial rhymes with blue in case you decide on to undergo in ideas this kind). Brown is stay - imagine brown knocks you down. Yellow/eco-friendly is earth cord. desire this facilitates you to undergo in ideas in destiny. The stay wires are the harmful ones.
2016-11-23 14:44:42 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending who wired it in the first place. If it a random cable leave it to some one who knows what they are doing. Or get yourself an electrical tester.
2006-09-23 22:27:59 · answer #10 · answered by Gordon C 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋