Wiring a light switch for PIR outdoor light

meastwood · 2 Sep 2017

I appreciate this may have been covered several times, but I couldn't quite find the right answer!

I've bought a PIR outdoor light and thought it would be a straightforward brown to brown, blue to blue and earth to earth, but it's a 4 core (grey, black, brown and earth).

Firstly, which colours do I connect to the L & N?

Secondly, I've had a look at the switch indoors and it isn't wired up!

There's a standard 3 core cable, which has the supply (brown, blue, earth) and the 4 core cable...

How do I wire up the switch? Do I need to fit a small connector block in the casing of the switch and make a loop? If so I'm guessing brown (supply) would go into Common, but I'm really not sure about the rest of the cables...

Any help much appreciated.

Here are the pictures of the switch wires:

PIR Light switch wiring

meastwood
2 Sep 2017

Light switch

meastwood
2 Sep 2017

ban-all-sheds · 2 Sep 2017

Looks like the wiring was installed to allow for an external light which needs permanent and switched live.

You should use a proper 2-pole tester or multimeter to check that the L in the twin & earth is brown - it almost certainly will be but one should never assume.

As for what colours to use to the light, it's largely up to you, but the use of black for N tends to be frowned on, so I'd advise using the grey for that, sleeved blue at the terminations. If you use the black for permanent or switched live, that should be sleeved brown.

meastwood · 2 Sep 2017

Thanks for the reply:

I've checked with a multimeter and the supply is definitely brown from the 3 core.

Just to get this correct:

Wiring the outdoor light would be:

Brown to Brown for L
Grey to Blue for N
Earth to Earth

What do I do with Black? There is nothing for it to go into... It's a 4 core to a 3 core on the light unit itself..

Wiring the switch:

Brown (Supply) to Com
Grey (light unit) to L
Brown (light unit) to Blue (supply) - terminating in a block connector
Black?

Really not sure how to connect these up to make a proper loop...

Many thanks.

ban-all-sheds · 2 Sep 2017

Mmm.

If you can't see a problem with connecting grey to the neutral of the light and live at the switch, and brown to the light live and the neutral at the switch I'm not sure that electrical work is for you....

meastwood · 2 Sep 2017

Hi,

Sorry I got a bit confused by a lighting diagram where the blue would act as live and be terminated with brown....

Here's a drawing of what I've actually done, but it doesn't switch the light on and I'm also baffled by the black - I don't know where to put it.

Here's what I've done:

lighting diagram for outdoor light (switch)

meastwood
2 Sep 2017

Any help would be appreciated!

333rocky333 · 2 Sep 2017

Was there instructions for the light.
The black would likely need terminating in a spare connecter block

It is a pir light so its possible the switch will not turn the light on
Surely the black wire is in the cable from the switch rather than coming out the light

meastwood · 2 Sep 2017

Thanks for the reply.

Yes sorry black is coming from switch side, but I've terminated both sides into spare connectors....

Not really sure about having a permanent live option as there is no cable coming out of light for it.

Not getting any joy when switching on... do you think it's something to do with PIR sensor settings or have I got something wrong with my wiring?

Any ideas?

Thanks

333rocky333 · 2 Sep 2017

Have you checked the bulb is fitted ok, i assume the switch is on
Your wiring appears correct

ban-all-sheds · 2 Sep 2017

meastwood said:
Not really sure about having a permanent live option as there is no cable coming out of light for it.

Au contraire, mon ami - I would expect a PIR controlled light to require a permanent live and no switched, not t'other way around....

meastwood · 5 Sep 2017

Thanks for the help. All sorted - forgotten I had used black as Neutral on the light!

ban-all-sheds · 5 Sep 2017

ban-all-sheds said:
the use of black for N tends to be frowned on

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Wiring a light switch for PIR outdoor light

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