wiring a plug

[honnie]

can anybody tell me how to wire a english plug from a american plug (it is a american light plug ) and the wiers are just black

[smorodina]

One to Live and one to Neutral. For a light it doesn't matter which way round they go, but if there is a bulb you'll have to change it for a British one as the voltage is different.

[tony1941]

Be careful, however!  If the light has a switch included, you must ensure that  the wire to it is connected to the live, not the neutral.  Americans seem to be much more laid back about these things, but then they only have half as many volts to leap out and grab you when it all goes wrong!

[gen2]

I take that you have an American lamp with an American plug and wish to fit a British plug in its place.  I also assume it is twin-flex (no earth).

Connect one wire to the live terminal (where brown would go) and the other to neutral (where blue would normally go). It does not matter which is which - after all, multi-national adaptors will accept two-pin plugs either way round.

Voltage Warning:
Don't run the lamp in the UK with an American bulb.  These are rated at 110Volts and are totally unsuitable for use with our 220V.

A couple of additional safety points:
If the lamp has metal parts, then it should be earthed.
If you change a bulb, either swith it off at the plug, or unplug it first.  Don't rely on any switch on the lamp itself - the contacts in the bulb-holder could still be live.

[shaunjosh]

It could matter which way round you connect the black wires into a British plug. If the light fitting takes an edison screw bulb, polarity is critical. The live must go to the centre pin of the lamp holder and the neutral to the outer threaded connection.

Also another point that someone else has raised about needing an earth wire on something metal. This is not always true. Some metal cased electrical items are double insulated (Class 2) - which means you have NOT to connect an earth cable. A double insulated (Class 2) item is indicated by 2 squares - one smaller square inside a alrger square. (I don't know if the double insulated standard (Class 2) is just Europe or if its worldwide recognised)

[Eddiecurrent]

Buy a new lamp! Anything bought in from america must be rated at 240v (or 230v damn brussels!) for it to be safely used in this country. A rating of 110v is not enough. You could buy a british or european lamp holder and have a spark install it with new flex, it's certainly not up to standard as it is.