i am trying to swap the old pendant for a new pendant fitting, however, when i removed the old one it appeared that the earth wire was about an inch and a half shorter that the live and neutral and i was unable to fit it into the pendant. can the earth wire be extended to enable me to fit the light safely?
He means Terminal Block strip - you can cut off what you need...
http://cache2.smarthome.com/images/84720tb.jpg
Peccavi
October 2009
It can, and the best way is to bare both ends of the cable, twist them together then solder...covering the join with some shrink wrap tubing. However, a piece from a 'chocolate block' connector will do if there is space for it.
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Try fixfault.com to fix lighting.