More faceplate replacement problems....

Another faceplate replacement problem.

One of our bedrooms has a 2-gang switch - one for the ceiling light, and the other (we assumed) for a wall light (there's a three round pin socket in the wall) which we never tried.

However, when I removed the plate I found that only the ceiling light was actually connected. So I have two options:

  1. Replace 2-gang with 1-gang : in this case, how do I wire it? The current wiring in this picture is:

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YELLOW - L2 RED ON LEFT - COMMON (bridged across to common on the other - er - switch) RED ON RIGHT - L2

On the 1-gang the connections are labelled COMMON, ONE WAY and TWO WAY

  1. Reinstate the wall light. The picture below shows the blanked off wiring. How should I connect these wires?

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Thanks

Edward

Reply to
Edward
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I can't see anything that's blanked off!

You have an incoming live feed which goes to COMmon on one of the gangs. This is bridged across to COM on the other gang. The red wire connected to L2 is the switched live for that gang and the yellow wire is the switched live for the other gang. One of these feeds the ceiling light and the other almost certainly feeds the wall-light socket (I don't know which is which). The chocolate block with the blue/black wires looks as if it is simply joining the incoming and outgoing neutrals together.

If you test the wall-light socket, you'll almost certainly find that it's live when one or other of the switches is turned on.

[Each gang of the 2-gang switch works in exactly the same way as a one-gang switch - Common is connected to L1 (1-way) in one position and to L2 (2-way) in the other position. If using it just as an on/off switch, it doesn't matter which of L1 or L2 you use - it just reverses whether the switch is On when it's up or down, if you see what I mean.]
Reply to
Roger Mills

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:58:48 -0000 someone who may be "Roger Mills" wrote this:-

Indeed. My guess is that the right hand cable is a three core and earth cable, coming down from the ceiling rose or junction box.

If this is the case then the red in that cable would be the permanent live, which goes from one switch to the other via the strap. The yellow is the switched live which goes back to the ceiling rose/junction box. The left hand switch should work the ceiling light.

The cable on the left goes to the wall socket and is two core and earth. The red for this comes from the switch, the black is connected to the blue from the other cable, which is the neutral, via the terminal block. The right hand switch should work the socket.

I would test these suppositions before doing anything else. If that is the case I would buy a two gang switch in order to keep the switched light socket. Cores should be sleeved in the "new" colours.

Reply to
David Hansen

I argree apart the part that says the cores should be sleeved in the "new" colours. They should be sleeved in the "old" colours. Of course the green CPC sleeving should be in the green/yellow "new" sleeving. I am not sure when green/yellow sleeving was required but it will be around 30 years ago.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:24:12 GMT someone who may be "ARWadsworth" wrote this:-

New switch, "new" sleeving colours in my book. If the old cables were sleeved properly with the old colours I probably wouldn't bother to change it.

Reply to
David Hansen

That does go against the advice of the NICIEC.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

For non-flexible conductors green/yellow was permitted from 1970 (amendment to 14th ed.) and plain green was disallowed from 1977 (ditto).

For flexibles the corresponding dates are 1963 and 1st April 1971.

[Information from a post to the IET wiring regs forum.]
Reply to
Andy Wade

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