How does the 2nd flow from the 1st?
two gang light switch problem
- Thread starter rosie5golf
- Start date
NO. If the light does not come on when you join together the red and black of the hall switch (which 'bypasses' the switch), then that means that the problem is something other than the switch. You really would need a multimeter, and be confident to use it on a live circuit, to investigate this problem further - do you have one, or access to one?
Yes, so long as you have a metal switch, that must be addressed. Do I take it that there is an earth available in the back box?
Kind Regards, John
Hi John,
I did have a multi meter but it has given up the ghost.
I do have power tracker pen which shows power at the black cable but I am not sure if it picking up a source from somewhere else.
There is an earth connection at the rear of the box which looks like it has never been used.
I did have a multi meter but it has given up the ghost.
I do have power tracker pen which shows power at the black cable but I am not sure if it picking up a source from somewhere else.
There is an earth connection at the rear of the box which looks like it has never been used.
OK. If the red wires at the top (hence the little red link wire) are live, then connecting the black from the hall switch to them should make the hall light come on. If not, there must be a problem of the wiring to the light, the light fitting or the lamp/bulb - and you would probably need an electrician to get to the bottom of that.
[Do I take it that you are sure that the two black wires (one for each switch didn't somehow get 'swapped'? - although I doubt that the other switch would be working remotely normally if that had happened]
Are you saying that nothing is connected to the box's earth terminal? If so, what happens to the earth wires (bare copper, maybe covered with green/yellow sleeving) coming from the two cables (if there are any). If there are no earth conductors in the cables (which was the case in decades past), as has been said, it is not safe to have a metal switch - you would either have to change to a plastic switch (ideally with plastic/nylon screws), or else have the cable replaced with one which has an earth .
Kind Regards, John
I thought that I would check the wires in the rose on the ceiling and found that the two red wires just go into a terminal block.
The two black wires are separate and are the connections for the light fitting.
The reds are live and the blacks become live when the switch is on but still the light doesn't work !
I am now thoroughly confused !!!
Yes there is an earth within the cable attached to the metal box. I shall install an earth tomorrow.
The two black wires are separate and are the connections for the light fitting.
The reds are live and the blacks become live when the switch is on but still the light doesn't work !
I am now thoroughly confused !!!
Yes there is an earth within the cable attached to the metal box. I shall install an earth tomorrow.
To me it sounds like you have lost the neutral to the ceiling rose. What you could have done to cause this I don't know. Been playing in other ceiling roses down stairs ?
What happens when you remove the bulb? And both blacks still live?
What happens when you remove the bulb? And both blacks still live?
The two red wires are probably a live feed and a (pemanent) live to the switch. One of the blacks should be the switched live coming back from the switch, and the other a neutral.
As above, the reds should always be live. Only one of the blacks should become live when the light is switched on. Try testing that again with the lamp/bulb removed. One of the problems is that, since your multimeter has died, you are presumably using some rather iffy testing device.
I assume that this has worked in the past? Would a photo of inside the rose be possible?
OK - so, in that case, you just need to connect a wire (with green/yellow insulation or sleeving) from that earth terminal in the box (together with the wire already connected to it) to the earth terminal on the switch.
Kind Regards, John
Edit: slow typing, yet again
With the switch in the off position,both the live and neutral are live but the bulb does not light. In the on position, the wires are dead. Somewhere the wires are the wrong way round. I haven't touched any other light fitting and this just stopped working.
Probably used the wrong terminal in the switch for the black wire.
Used L2 not L1 or vice versa
Used L2 not L1 or vice versa
- Joined
- 11 Jan 2004
- Messages
- 45,889
- Reaction score
- 3,520
- Country
I wonder if there is a broken neutral somewhere?
Sorry, DS, you beat me to it!
Sorry, DS, you beat me to it!
4 people seam to think so!
Have you got those ons and offs the right way around Or got the black wire in the L2, rather than the L1 switch, so that 'up is off')? If you meant the opposite (both blacks live with switch on, and both blacks dead with switch off) then, as Andy has suggested, it sounds as if the black which is meant to be neutral is not actually connected to neutral. Also, if that is the case, one of the blacks (the one which is meant to be neutral) will probably not be live even if the switch is on, if you remove the lamp/bulb.
Kind Regards, John
With the switch in the off position,both the live and neutral are live but the bulb does not light. In the on position, the wires are dead. Somewhere the wires are the wrong way round. I haven't touched any other light fitting and this just stopped working.I have tested the bulb in another fitting and it works fine.Even the fitting is live.
Thanks for that. I will have to look in the morning as it's too dark to see properly now. I will keep you all posted.
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
