LANDING LIGHT SWITCH SWITCHES ONE WAY ONLY

[PABLOMERSEY]

On the Landing double switch. One switch on the landing light will only switch the bathroom light on and off, ok that is correct !

When you switch the switch off down stairs in the hall, to switch the landing light off that works ok !

Then when you switch the Landing light off upstairs the Downstairs switch doesn't have any effect.

I remember in my last house the electrician had forgot as he told me to put a loop in the back of the switch. Which was a piece of wire from one point in the back of the switch on the landing to another part of the same switch, thus giving the down stairs a feed.

This worked,

Any one got any ideas what is wrong or does this need the same feed

In the back of the switch also was a small red wire taped up that is live shouldnt this be connected also.

Paul

The wiring for the Double Switch is as below.

Bathroom Top Black wire with Red sheath on
Bottom Small Red in one on the left of the switch
Other Bottom Empty

Landing Top Black wire with Red sheath
Bottom Left Black wire with Red sheath
Bottom Right Thin Red wire

Taped up Small Red Wire ( Constant live )

 

[Spark123]

Have you been changing switches or something? Has it ever worked?
Does your bathroom light work all of the time, no matter what the state of the downstairs switch is in?
In the upstairs switch how are the terminals labelled for the upstairs light, i.e. which wire goes into com, L1, L2 etc? How is the switch at the bottom of the stairs wired? Can you take a pic of the upstairs switch wiring and the downstairs switch wiring, upload them to here:http://www.imageshack.us/ and post links?

 

[PABLOMERSEY]

Spark123

Its my Son in laws house. I am at my own house now.

The switch was in when he moved in and was not working properly at all.

The switch in the hall was originally switching the bathroom light on.

I got the one side of the switch on the landing so it only now switches on the bathroom.

The switch on the other side is ok if you switch the landing light on by the down stairs hall light switch, but as soon as you switch the landing part of it, the down stairs part has NO impact ie. does not switch the landing on or off.

Then if you switch the landing light again, you can then switch the landing light on and off again by the hall light.

Does that make sense ?

Also should one RED wire ( That is defo Live ) just be taped up ?

 

[Spark123]

Not ideally just taped up, would be better properly terminated into say a terminal block.
The switch in the hall, can you find out how this is wired? Same with the terminals in the one at the top? It is sounding like they are wired in series i.e. you can only turn the light on from the last position it was switched off from? I take it the hall switch is a single gang one?

 

[PABLOMERSEY]

Not ideally just taped up, would be better properly terminated into say a terminal block.
The switch in the hall, can you find out how this is wired? Same with the terminals in the one at the top? It is sounding like they are wired in series i.e. you can only turn the light on from the last position it was switched off from? I take it the hall switch is a single gang one?

No the Hall light also has a switch that switches the Hall light on, All the down stairs is ok.

As I said though, if you switch the Landing light switch so the light is ON you can then switch the Landing light ON and OFF by the Hall light.
Switch the Landing light OFF and you can't switch the Landing light ON and OFF by the Hall light.

 

[Spark123]

Could do with finding out how both the top and bottom landing switches are wired, i.e. which wires go into the terminals C, L1, L2. Be careful as if there is more than one lighting circuit in the house there will likely be more than one feed to one of these switches.

 

[Lectrician]

NEed to know how that hall sw is wired - sounds like the problem is there.

The taped up red comes from the landing light if I am correct, and should be in a block. It will be in the sam sheath as the black in the top of the landing switch (is that correct?).

Is the hall light on a seperate fuse to the landing?? If so, you have a shared neutral there also, which isn't good, but not immediately dangerous unless - BUT MAKE SURE YOU TURN ALL LIGHTING CIRCUITS OFF WHEN WORKING ON THE LIGHTS.

Tell us how the hall switch is wired

 

[securespark]

Not ideally just taped up, would be better properly terminated into say a terminal block.

If the conductor is not used, it is best connected to earth.

 

[PABLOMERSEY]

NEed to know how that hall sw is wired - sounds like the problem is there.

The taped up red comes from the landing light if I am correct, and should be in a block. It will be in the sam sheath as the black in the top of the landing switch (is that correct?).

Is the hall light on a seperate fuse to the landing?? If so, you have a shared neutral there also, which isn't good, but not immediately dangerous unless - BUT MAKE SURE YOU TURN ALL LIGHTING CIRCUITS OFF WHEN WORKING ON THE LIGHTS.

Tell us how the hall switch is wired

Yes you are right the taped up wire is in the same sheath as the black at the top of the landing switch.

I will admit I haven't checked if it was on seperate fuses as I switched off all the electric by the main switch, with it having problems already before I touched it I wanted to make sure every thing was off, before I touched anything.

The only problem seems to be getting the power of ON / OFF to work on the landing. So when you go to bed you don't have to run down stairs to switch the switch their to run up stairs to switch OFF before going to bed

 

[Lectrician]

Yes, so please tell us how the hall switch is wired - the problem DOES appear to be their, even though the 'symptom' is at the landing switch.

 

[Spark123]

Not ideally just taped up, would be better properly terminated into say a terminal block.

If the conductor is not used, it is best connected to earth.

I suppose, although this would mean the OP locating where the wire is fed from and disconnecting it before connecting it to earth otherwise it would go bang.

 

[securespark]

This problem (to me, anyway) suggests a loose missing or damaged strapper (between the L1's and L2's of the two-way switch.

 

[Spark123]

Yup, I was thinking along those lines too, or one / both of the two way switches have been wired incorrectly. Also thinking along the same lines as Lectrician, the phase may have been looped from the hall light switch, 2 strappers up to the upstairs switch and the switched live up to the lamp from here, the spare permanent live here being from when (if it ever was) a single way lighting circuit. As Lectrician says if the hall and landing lights were on separate fuses originally there can be a shared neutral.