Light switch Neon

I have just wired a couple of lamps in my loft over the garage. I have taken the power from from a redundant power plug on the ceiling that was put there for an electric garage door. I used a switch ( Marbo 20A DP ) with a neon in the hope that this would glow when the loft lights were on. it doesn't. The switch is located next to the power plug..

From reading I gather that neons dont glow in a single wire circuit , given the proximity of the power source would it possible to pass both sides of the circuit through the two paths of the switch to achieve a glowing neon.

Parts

Reply to
christopher
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snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEbundy.co.uk:

Yes. In fact that seems to me to be the obvious and easiest way to wire it up and I can't see why you've done it differently, or how proximity is relevant, unless I'm missing something.

Reply to
Mike Barnes

I would guess that despite you using a DP switch you have only used one pole, the reason that the neon is not glowing is that it is wired between the L and N on the switched side and you are probably lacking the neutral.

Peter

Reply to
Peter Andrews

snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEbundy.co.uk expressed precisely :

If I understand you correctly - yes. If you wire both L and N through the switch and wire them at the correct ends of the switch, it should light up when on.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

What you can do with a neon is connect it across the switch and it would glow when switch is off making it easy to find in the dark.

Reply to
F Murtz

If you want a neon to glow when the light is OFF and you are using an incandescent bulb - just bridge the 2 contacts of a normal single pole switch.

Reply to
John

Sorry - already said - and I meant to say bridge the contacts with the neon. You used to be able to buy surround plates that fitted behind the switch and incorporated a neon or an electroluminescent panel. I bet they are still around. Need to use a conventional bulb in the main light ideally to allow the neon to 'get its neutral return path'

Reply to
John

Someone is capitalising on the idea:

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Reply to
John

Reply to
Vass

Standard MK part:

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other manufacturers too.

Reply to
dom

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