Cooker switch neon indicator

[John K]

My cooker switch is wired in a way that the neon indicator is always on, whether the switch is on or off. Is this correct? (I am under the impression that the indicator should be in sync with the switch). The cooker is mixed-energy: gas hob and electric oven, if that matters.

Moreover, I have two wall light switches that also have neon indicators and the indicators are always on regardless whether the switches are on or off. They must be wired by the same electrician. But is this correct?

Thanks, -JK.

[Dave Plowman]

Sounds like the input and output from the switch are reversed. Not a safety issue, but annoying.

If they are there to 'see' the switch in the dark, it's normal to have them on with the light off, and off with it on. If it's a normal lighting circuit, it sounds like he might have wired one side to earth, given that there's not normally a neutral at a switch.

[Harry Bloomfield]

On 18/02/2004 John K opined:-

No, it is wrong. The indicators are to indicate that the switches are turned on.

The terminals should be marked something similar to 'in' and 'out', one for each L and N. Your 'electrician' has got the 'in' mixed up with the 'out'.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Sorry, that was meant to apply to the cooker type switches.

[stefek.zaba]

With incandescents, there's no need to wire the cold end of the neon to earth: the neon goes across the switch contacts, and the cold resistance of the blub forms an effective path to neutral (being massively lower than the 'internal resistance' of a neon indicator). With the switch on, there's no potential across the neon, so it goes out. A downside of this Ingeneous scheme is that if the bulb blows, the indicator no longer lights; and it's shot to pot if you use compact-flourescent or similar.

As for the cooker switch, it sounds as you say very much as if the wiring to the 'Feed' and 'Load' sides of the switch have been swapped round.

Cheers, Stefek

[Bob Eager]

Funnily enough, we have one circuit with two compact fluorescents on it (nearly the same, apart from the white powder! :-)). It has one of these neon visibility things on the switch and it still seems to work OK (there are no incandescents in the circuit).

Don't know WHY, mind....!

[Andy Hall]

A large R across the fluorexcrescent?

That would be enough to light the neon.

I have a neon visibility thing on a circuit connected to a HF ballasted fitting with emergency maintained capability. Must be an R there as well

.andy

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[Steven Briggs]

Any electronic HF ballast device is likely to have an X capacitor (i.e., live to neutral) at the input for EMC filtering. That will give enough current flow to light a neon up-stream.

[Dave Plowman]

Err, that's what I said. If it stays on all the time as the OP says, one side is either wired to earth or neutral.

[Lurch]

More than likely the neon is connected across L & E. ..

SJW A.C.S. Ltd.

[Bob Eager]

Not in my case, it isn't. I wired it...

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Andy Hall writes

Lovely. :)