Bank Holiday 2 Way Light Switch!!

[Lectrician]

12v reading means very little, if anything.

Open the other switch, dont disconnect anything, but tell us what you have.

Photo of both would be great - if you dont know how to post a photo, ask

 

[DIYerHELP]

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The other two way switch has the following wire (untouched by me!):

L1 Yellow
COM Red
L2 Blue

Not sure how to wire this up again![/url]

 

[DIYerHELP]

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The other two way switch has the following wire (untouched by me!):

L1 Yellow
COM Red
L2 Blue

That's interesting, considering the red and blue cores don't make it to the first switch, and therefore possibly not the red either, if that 3 core cable goes somewhere else..

Not sure how to wire this up again!

I fear it's time for you to get either a multimeter or an electrician....

 

[333rocky333]

i see only3 wires a link and others i assume were already taped up
Isolate supply
The red with the link i would put one in each of the coms

**************
LOOKED AGAIN
OR is the black with the red tape stripped as well rather than just taped up sorry
If so i would say the two wires on left, red and taped black are L1 and L2 with the link red in com
Meaning that is your two way switch not as you say

**************

The black with red tape one on the right put in the other L1

Similar to lectricians drawing above

The links apear to be the lives
if you establish what other wire does the one way light by trying one at a time
then this will leave you just two as strappers

If you are sure the wire you say is the 2 way
There is a chance the strapper is used as live and also to feed the other one way switch next to it, the other strapper being used as the two way switch line.

Why is that one labelled strapper

 

[Space cat]

First question; if you connect what you think is the one-way cable to a switch, does it work? (Isolate the other wires in choc block while you try this.) I ask this because you don't have enough separate wires in the other cable for two-way switching. The only way the two-way switch can possibly work is if at least one wire in the "one-way" cable is involved. In fact I suspect that you have somehow mixed them up!

If you had left us to guess at which cable was which, I would've suggested putting the red wire with "strapper" in COM on one switch and the other end of that "strapper" in COM on the other one. Then I would put the black wire from your "two-way" cable into either L1 or L2 on one switch and the two cores of your "one-way" cable into L1 and L2 on the other switch. Try it and see.

Drat! I think 333rocky333 just beat me to it.

 

[DIYerHELP]

All the wires are stripped.

Had a look at another two way switch in the house and it has the strapper link wire going from a COM on the two way to L2 on the one way.

Can't try the last two suggestion yet as the good lady is cooking and previous attempts have fused the electrics.

Thanks for the replies so far. Hope I get this fixed soon or I'll be cooking for 1.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

previous attempts have fused the electrics.

OK.

That means that you are blundering around trying different connections, some of which turn out to be short circuits, hoping that you'll chance on the right one.

That really is a Bad Way to sort this out.

I strongly advise you to either do nothing more until you have got a multimeter and identified all the permanent live and switch wires, and the strappers that run between the two switches, or give up and call an electrician.

 

[333rocky333]

small red wire (this gives a 12v reading)

Tested with what

do you remember how it was connected when the fuse blew
If all the stripped wires you have came out the old switch it would not be possible
did you touch any to the metal box by accident when it was on

On the one way it wont matter what way round L1 and com is it will still work
It DOES matter on the TWO Way though

 

[DIYerHELP]

Ordered a multimeter from Screwfix today. Need to get the correct tools for the job seeing as I've c#cked this up. I'll post my findings.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

do you remember how it was connected when the fuse blew
If all the stripped wires you have came out the old switch it would not be possible

1) He appears to have insufficient conductors for 2-way switching.
2) The cables are Twin & Earth.
3) The Earths are now all connected to the backbox.
4) Some combinations of the other conductors and switch terminals blow the fuse.

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = ?

 

[Lectrician]

Are you putting the switch plate back to the wall each time you try? If so, you may have caught a wire which blew the fuse - so watch out for that.

 

[securespark]

How can you create a CPD-operating short with a bunch of lives?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

By connecting one of them to earth?

 

[securespark]

Either that, or some of them are neutrals.

What say you, Mr OP?