Which wire is witch?

Homervanderjazz · 4 Dec 2020

Hi,

Am going to fit an extractor fan and just want to make sure I have the wiring right.

It’s Going to be connected to the light switch and there are three wires present already, red, yellow and blue.

my understanding is the following;
Red=live
Yellow=switched live
Blue=neutral

would that be accurate? Thanks for any help.

EFLImpudence · 4 Dec 2020

How are they connected to the switch?

Homervanderjazz · 4 Dec 2020

EFLImpudence said:
How are they connected to the switch?

I don’t know tbh. They are connected to an existing extractor fan which no longer works.

The existing extractor fan only has two of the three wires attached to it. Reason being that the replacement I had previously bought didn’t have a timer mechanism so the guy who fit it only used two of the wires.

The new extractor fan will fit the three wires.

EFLImpudence · 4 Dec 2020

I thought you meant you were going to connect a new cable to the light switch where there were three wires present already.
So the wires might be connected to the light and not the switch.

If the old fan came on with the light and the Yellow and Blue were connected to the old fan then you are correct.

terryplumb · 4 Dec 2020

Does your new fan have a timer ?
The only sure way to identify the conductors would be to test with a multimeter ,or twin probe voltage tester.

Homervanderjazz · 4 Dec 2020

terryplumb said:
Does your new fan have a timer ?
The only sure way to identify the conductors would be to test with a multimeter ,or twin probe voltage tester.

Yeh the new one has a timer. I don’t have either of the items you mention unfortunately.

terryplumb · 4 Dec 2020

The wire that was not connected to the old fan will likely be the permanent live . What's connected to the old fans live and neutral terminals ,yellow and blue ?

Homervanderjazz · 5 Dec 2020

terryplumb said:
The wire that was not connected to the old fan will likely be the permanent live . What's connected to the old fans live and neutral terminals ,yellow and blue ?

I have had a look and the yellow and blue wires are connected. The red wire is there but taped up. I have included picture below. A wire connector has also been used. There are two black wires coming out the fan which go into the wire connector. The blue and yellow then also also go into the wire connector. Does it matter which black wire is joined up to which coloured wire?

I will need to get a 3 way wire connector as well. Never used a wire connector before, do I need to get a specific one or will any type do? Thanks for your help.

EFLImpudence · 5 Dec 2020

Homervanderjazz said:
I have had a look and the yellow and blue wires are connected. The red wire is there but taped up. I have included picture below. A wire connector has also been used. There are two black wires coming out the fan which go into the wire connector. The blue and yellow then also also go into the wire connector. Does it matter which black wire is joined up to which coloured wire?

No, but your new fan will not be like that, will it?

I will need to get a 3 way wire connector as well.

Why?

Never used a wire connector before, do I need to get a specific one or will any type do? Thanks for your help.

Well, they do have current ratings - 5A, 10A, etc. - but for general use, and light circuits, the smallest into which you can get the wires you have is adequate.

Homervanderjazz · 5 Dec 2020

EFLImpudence said:
No, but your new fan will not be like that, will it?

Why?

Well, they do have current ratings - 5A, 10A, etc. - but for general use, and light circuits, the smallest into which you can get the wires you have is adequate.

New fan is the same except for being on a timer which means all 3 wires will fit into it.

The wires aren’t long enough to fit into the fan directly and as there are 3 of them will need to use 3 way wire connector.

thanks

EFLImpudence · 5 Dec 2020

Ok, but your new fan will be marked -

L, red
N, blue and
timer - could be T, L1, LT or similar, yellow.

Homervanderjazz · 5 Dec 2020

EFLImpudence said:
Ok, but your new fan will be marked -

L, red
N, blue and
timer - could be T, L1, LT or similar, yellow.

Thanks for all your help.

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Which wire is witch?

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EFLImpudence

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EFLImpudence

terryplumb

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