Light switch wiring confusion
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starky800
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Light switch wiring confusion

by starky800 » Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:52 pm

Previous owners of my new house had a ceiling fan with light in the dining room attached to a double switch. One for the light and one for the fan. I am now trying to fit a normal light fitting wanting a live, neutral and earth... and a single switch.

At the wall I have a red (live), blue (neutral), yellow (2nd conductor?) and an earth connected to the box.

At the fitting I have three cables. Two with three wires (red, black and earth) and the other matching the cable going into the switch with red, blue, yellow and earth)

1. Am I right in thinking I could just block off the yellow wire at both ends as its not needed for a single switch?

2. Will I need a switch with just two connections ('Com' and 'L1') seen as though the earth is connected to the metal box in the wall?

3. Any help would be much appreciated as I can't seem to fixture it out!

Thank you in advance
Bob

ericmark
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Re: Light switch wiring confusion

by ericmark » Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:27 pm

[quote="starky800"]
At the wall I have a red (live), blue (neutral), yellow (2nd conductor?) and an earth connected to the box.[/quote]

Are you sure? Unusual to have a neutral at the switch. More likely you have:-
Feed in
Switched feed to lights
Switched feed to fan

[quote="starky800"]

At the fitting I have three cables. Two with three wires (red, black and earth) and the other matching the cable going into the switch with red, blue, yellow and earth)

1. Am I right in thinking I could just block off the yellow wire at both ends as its not needed for a single switch?

[/quote]
Possible but there is no colour code or at least colour code calls for all brown so can't give an answer really

[quote="starky800"]

2. Will I need a switch with just two connections ('Com' and 'L1') seen as though the earth is connected to the metal box in the wall?

3. Any help would be much appreciated as I can't seem to fixture it out!

Thank you in advance
Bob[/quote]

Yes Com and L1 or L and L1 or L1 and L2 unfortunately different manufactures use different way of labelling.

However if it was in my room I would use a fitting with a number of bulbs and form them into two groups uneven in size i.e. 2 and 4 so two switches give six lights, and one switch gives two and other gives 4 so you have three levels of lighting.

It is unfortunate but the regulations only require the wires to be marked line or neutral and of course earth and there is no requirement to say what each line wire does. So each wire in the three and earth cable should have a brown (Red if old house) sleeve and that's it.

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by sparx » Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:36 pm

Hi,
not quite right, (Once circuit made dead)
The three wires at the switch are red Live (looped to both switches,)
yellow and blue are both SWITCH LINES which should have red sleeving on them to show they are lives not neutral or anything else.
At the light the 3 reds connect together but do not connect to the light.
The 2 black neutrals connect to the lights N (Blue flex).
The Yellow (sleeved/taped red) connects to lights L (brown flex).
Back at switch remove red link between switches, fit red to Common term.
connect yellow (sleeved /taped red) to switch L1.
the now unused blue should be made safe each end by fitting a spare connector or taping up out of contact with live parts,
regards

starky800
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by starky800 » Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:31 am

Great stuff thanks for the help...

All up and running!!

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