Help! I hate lighting circuits

[LadySpark]

Crowdsourcing really as I can't think straight about this. It's not entirely about electrical skills to be fair even though I posted here. I am daunted by the building skills to neatly replace a wire I can't pull and need to think outside the box. Hopefully I am missing something!

A bathroom light stopped working. Live and neutral (old red and black) with no earth. The bathroom light doesn't work at all. I've changed the bulb, the light fitting, the connector and it is none of those. Resistance on the live and neutral in consumer unit is about equal. Resistance at light also both equal but very low. Very slightly over voltage at the consumer unit. I cannot detect any volts at the light even when live. All other lights in the flat work and consumer unit gives power so the dead wire to the light would mean that there is a break in the cable connecting the light.

Any tips or tricks?

Flat with concrete ceilings, decorated like a palace with pale carpets everywhere and lots of small dogs watching me work. I have a fishhook but I've tried pulling the wires and they won't budge, presumably metal clipped for fire safety so we don't strangle our brave firefighters but maybe even caught in the concrete ceiling. I'm 5' tall and sure as hell don't want to be cutting 1970s possibly asbestos concrete ceilings working above my head and at the limit of my reach but the wires just will not pull, plus I'm not at all sure which light they are connected to, other than it is not the hall light right outside the door as they are going at 90 degrees to it so beams must run across.

If I were to put the bathroom light on a line of it's own but to the same MCB as the other lights (consumer unit is full, not the sort of area when I can charge a lot), would that meet regulations? Might be easier that getting to the bottom of how the lights are wired. Surely there is a better way?

[ericmark]

Time to think out of the box,

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this is one idea, another is fluorescent type lights in a line either way the light is powered from wall not the ceiling.

I found my parents house a challenge, I knew it needed a rewire, pre-1966 we was 1954 and old rubber with no earth to lights, needed a rewire, but dad said you can do it when I'm gone, I am not living in a building site. And that is what happened after he died I got it re-wired, did not do myself as speed was important £550 pre week to look after mother in care home, and likely on my own would take me weeks.

But until done it was like walking on egg shells, the rubber was starting to crumble and to do the kitchen fitted second consumer unit fed with SWA around outside of house. Problem is how to you sign some thing off when you know it is potentially dangerous? OK with your own home, but my mother was caught by carers putting an extension lead into a bowl of water as she had seen the neon flicker and thought it was on fire.

And people do daft things, specially in an emergency, if they think back then they realise how daft, but at the time it is a case for quick, do something, reading about Emma Shaw and she told boy friend there were sparks but still turned off water first, but most of us get a second chance, again same case and sending the electricians mate to press button and note reading, I have done that many times. I am just lucky nothing went wrong.

So what is the jobs worth, at what point do you say sorry, it is oval trunking on the ceiling, can't botch that, even then needs metal clips.

[wine~o]

When you say red and black at the light is that just a single black and single red or the normal loop arrangement ? Have you checked the switch wiring and that the switch actually works ?
Depending on whether the loop is at the switch or the roses have you checked all the nearest switches/roses ??

[Dave54]

Unusual for wires to just break randomly in the middle unless there's something been done to them.
If continuity has been lost without people cutting the cable, then it's usually at the connections somewhere.
You have changed the switch, or at least tested it?

[ericmark]

I would hope @Ladyspark would do the normal tests, I have tried tracing wires before, yes a CAT tester

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can detect breaks, but that is really using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. So if no access to ceiling answer is likely wall lights.

[OnlyMe]

When you say red and black at the light is that just a single black and single red or the normal loop arrangement ? Have you checked the switch wiring and that the switch actually works ?
Depending on whether the loop is at the switch or the roses have you checked all the nearest switches/roses ??

Sorry for the late reply. Work keeps me away.

If it's concrete ceilings and no earth wire then it is probably a galv conduit installation with the conduit supplying the earth. Almost certainly wired in singles with the lives looped at the switch and the neutrals looped at the fitting.

[Neelix]

Really the OP needs a competent spark with the relevant test kit to get involved ........

[Someone-Else]

Really the OP needs a competent spark with the relevant test kit to get involved ........

The OP is a competant spark.

[Neelix]

Really the OP needs a competent spark with the relevant test kit to get involved ........

The OP is a competant spark.

Really ? That’s quite a surprise given what they have written