What is going on with this switch wiring?

[SUNRAY]

TBF to Jordan, in my career, especially when I was visiting multiple customers every day, I have seen thousands of faulty light switches. Of those, a great many have been that exact style of Crabtree switch and all of them (eventually) breakdown because the rocker mechanism fails.

Yes of course and equally these were a very popular switch so the number failing was likely to be 'in ratio'. This range has never struck me as troublesome however one range [can't remember the make] with convex bowed front with very concave curved rockers

had a similar construction [riveted srbp plate] for a while and when I found those it would be my first point of testing/replacement. There were other makes with this basic shape without the issue.

 

[SUNRAY]

Still guessing here, but I would assume this is how it was originally wired.

Given one piece of T&E looks to be quite different to the other (grey jacket is stuck to the inner core) I don't think the T&E from the switch to the downstairs rose or the 3C&E existed previously. A single red was probably originally between the landing switch and the landing light as was common in the 60's.

Maybe, especially as not all cables have an earthwire, seeing the fleeting glimpse of the rose I assumed it was some variant of this common arrangement:

I wondered if it may have started as something more like this too, but not all cables appear to exist:

But it's all guessing

 

[SUNRAY]

More guessing?:

 

[dannyboi2003]

Danny - If you believe that draw a diagram on a bit of paper and prove to yourself how it all works (including the downstairs light)

Sunray's drawing is how i believe its wired, however the feed could come in via either ceiling rose.

 

[dannyboi2003]

Yes of course and equally these were a very popular switch so the number failing was likely to be 'in ratio'. This range has never struck me as troublesome however one range [can't remember the make] with convex bowed front with very concave curved rockers View attachment 201162had a similar construction [riveted srbp plate] for a while and when I found those it would be my first point of testing/replacement. There were other makes with this basic shape without the issue.

That design looks like an old MK switch to me. Flameport has covered them on his website.

 

[securespark]

IIRC, all the older MK accessories gubbins were screwed to the front plates.

Except the Logic plus.

 

[SUNRAY]

That design looks like an old MK switch to me. Flameport has covered them on his website.

You're right it is similar to the MK's but there were a few others around at one point, IIRC the MK had a black or brown solid moulding as Secure mentions, the ones I'm referring to were similar construction to OP.

 

[dannyboi2003]

You're right it is similar to the MK's but there were a few others around at one point, IIRC the MK had a black or brown solid moulding as Secure mentions, the ones I'm referring to were similar construction to OP.

I missed the bit about them being riveted sorry, I can picture the ones you mean but they’ve been confined to history in my memory and google image searches aren’t helping either lol!

 

[SUNRAY]

Or another guess which would have used the 2c cables that we have seen:

 

[securespark]

Have I just contradicted myself?

Are these rivets?

 

[SUNRAY]

Have I just contradicted myself?

Are these rivets?

Well yes they are but I'll excuse you this time.

 

[securespark]

Thank you, sire, thank you!