2 way dimmer switches (again)

alix · 18 Nov 2005

I am trying to change a two way switch to a 2 way dimmer..i thought that i replaced it as before but what has happened is one light works fine, the other is on all the time. The wiring is as follows: There were seven mains wires, one red one black went in to one of the switches (L1 and L2). The other switch had 2 red, 1 blue, 1 black and 1 yellow. The 2 red went together the black and blue went together (L1 and L2) and the yellow went in to the connection with a symbol with a line going through it.
Please could somebody give me the correct order these wires are supposed to be in.
Thank you.

ban-all-sheds · 18 Nov 2005

See the For Reference section for 2-way switching wiring diagrams...

alix · 18 Nov 2005

Thanks for the reply, being a bit thick, can't find the reference section on the site.
But is it normal to have 2 sets of wires going in to one light and only 1 set going in to the other?

Lectrician · 18 Nov 2005

yes. Which one doesnt switch off, the one with two sets of cables, or the other??

alix · 18 Nov 2005

the one with just one set.

Lectrician · 18 Nov 2005

So the two way switched one works fine.

The single red and black should be in terminals L1 and Com (wiggley line). Doesnt matter which way around.

Odd that the light is on all the time, you have put them into L1 and L2, and there should be no connection between these two terminals inside the dimmer.

alix · 18 Nov 2005

no connection as far as i can see. But i put red in L1 and black in Com (or other way round). Would the other affect it?

How should that be wired...yellow in Com..2 red in L2...black and blue in L1?...i think that is the way i have it, i'm at work at moment and can't remember.

ban-all-sheds · 18 Nov 2005

alix said:
Thanks for the reply, being a bit thick, can't find the reference section on the site.

alix · 18 Nov 2005

Thanks again, can you just confirm whether what i wrote in the last reply is right?

ban-all-sheds · 18 Nov 2005

Yes - it's right, but your fault doesn't make sense.

On the two way side, you've got the permanent and switched lives in L1 & L2, which is correct, and the assignment of the 3-core red/yellow/blue cable to COM/L1/L2 doesn't matter, as long as its the same at each end.

The one-way switch cable can go in either COM&L1 or COM&L2, and it can go either way round, and it will work. Putting it in L1&L2 will give you a light that never comes on.

Unless the dimmer is what sparkies call "b*gg*ered". Try swapping the wires from one side to the other and see if the fault moves to the other light..

alix · 18 Nov 2005

thanks mate, i'm going home now,i'll try it and let you know monday!

Steve · 18 Nov 2005

ban that colour scheme's horrible . . . and why do you have a zillion things in the task bar?

and that is about 6 months old too!

ban-all-sheds · 19 Nov 2005

1) What's wrong with the colour scheme? - makes the active window stand out, which is useful if you sometimes use window managers that don't bring the one that has focus to the top.

2) You should see what the taskbar looks like now, if I unhide the inactive icons

3) Can't be bothered to re-do the "For Reference is here" picture...

alix · 21 Nov 2005

Ok, still can't get it to work......( or should i say not work because it is permanently on) and the thing is this is exactly as it was wired up before, so i did neglect to say that i have also changed the light from a single bulb to a three way spot light....have i connected this incorrectly?...i have connected it as per instructions but there is no earth wire from the mains...is this the reason or how should the wiring be connected there?

Lectrician · 21 Nov 2005

I think you may be lucky that you did wire the switch incorrectly then (one way red and black to the L1 and L2)!!

I suspect you have put all reds and all blacks to the L and N of the light.....unfortunatly, this is incorrect, and would usually go bang. However, as you have also wired the switch incorrectly, it can't, but will leave the light on all the time.

Wire the switch as we described.

In the pendent, you need to figure out which of the blacks is the SWITCHED LIVE from the switch. You need to put this to the lamps LIVE, and all the reds in a terminal block on their own.

Look in the for ref section on how lighting circuits work with a loop in system.

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2 way dimmer switches (again)

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