Light switch 2 gang both are 2-way. The stair switch works ok at the top of stairs, at bottom stairs it only works dependent on the position of the upstair switch. I opened up and there appears to be a loose wire, can someone please confirm that the yellow wire is needing reconnected as per image.
No I cannot anyway! Try prayer, or an oija board.
terminal.
Also of course if you get it wrong the cb will ping and there are not that many choices to try. I know it sounds daft but one has to have fun and you have also proved the cb works as well!
Brian
Yes. (With a very high degree of probability, and little chance of harm.)
PS And tighten the other five terminal screws while you are there.
Er! The cables look like nothing I have seen in a 2 Way switch arrangement. The fact that one has come adrift means that the whole caboodle is suspect.
A positive ID for each switch cable wouldn't take long and like PPE MCB's should be a last resort as regards safety.
If an RCD or Breaker needs testing, keep it at that. Dont test one unknown against another.
A pretty poor job would be to test the breaker first, then rely on it for protection. Even worse is combining the two.
No short cuts I'm afraid. Get the meter out and check every terminal in the process.
AB
If it was working the chances are that it was OK just strange wire or whatever. Why look for trouble above that which presents itself. Brian
2 way 2 gang switch requires 6 connections, the yellow coming off is certainly the most likely explanation.
NT
OK now sorted and switch working ok now, it was the yellow wire come loose.
In my early days I ran an MOD NAMAS accredited calibration department. I used to do audits on the work and being as "hands on" as the rest of the staff, it was more than just a paperwork excercise.
"insignificant problems" like a screw missing or dessicant that was past it's best were not in themselves problems. The case would be secure, the odd bit of damp would have no effect in a lot of the gear.
Those little problems were often very good indicators of something more serious because the shortcuts would appear in the critical areas also.
The solution, rejection and a full recal.
A philosophy that has served me very well over the years and prevented many serious failiures in my other jobs.
I have yet to see anything wrong with my approach. Some work is shoddy and potentially hazardous because of the location of the wiring I recently found a lghting cable twisted together and insulated with Silicone rubber. There were other problems with the same system so it wasn't too much of a surprise. Removing the plasterboard ceiling to find it wasn't with the intention of investigating the cable though, it was for a totally different reason. My risk assessment of the system did not conclude that removing a ceiling under a flat roof was going to be worthwhile.
The risks were low, but who's to know what load of flammables might have been left in the recess.
AB
You are not concerned as to why? The yellow wire was just sitting in a light switch back box, perfectly sound doing it's job, then one day it falls out.
I must have missed the acceptable time period requirements for cable retention when I did the 17th :-)
AB
That is a deprecated way of wiring a two way switched system, and also as evidenced from the use of 3&E in the OPs photo, not what is being used here.
The more appropriate diagram would be the second one in this section:
Hard to say how it is wired, I have never seen yellow used in a lighting circuit, I can only assume the cable was left over after some ancient three phase control project.
The piccy strongly suggests further investigation is needed, not just stick the wire in what looks like an appropriate hole and screw it up.
DIY or professional, there should be no uncertainties with electrical power.
AB
Triple and earth is often used domestically. Two way lighting circuits and thermostats. Two lighting circuits on the same switch to the same room, and so on. Anywhere where it is more economical.
The wiring regs certainly envisage screw terminals failing, and don't seem to mandate cable retention in light switches at all.
The contact failed because either;
- it was never screwed up properly (and this would not stop it working for an uncertain period);
- vibration from switching caused the screw to unscrew;
- or the copper gradually deformed under pressure;
The wire fell out when the switch was opened for examination.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
the three core (+ECC) cable I bought in about 1980 (for 2way switching of lights) certainly had yellow as one of its cores. Blue & white for the other two.
met this in our village hall - a professional installation
met this at home
It happens that Roger Hayter formulated :
It looks to me as if the copper core failed and snapped, leaving the copper part still in the terminal. Possibly the installer nicked the copper as he stripped the insulation and it subsequently snapped. Poor or careless technique.
Methinks your approach to electrical work is fundamentally flawed if you consider cables falling out an "ordinary" event.
AB
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