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Doesn't answer my question ...have you worked on wiring at the LIGHT fittings ??
Live & Dead Wires in Light Switch
- Thread starter Jetheat
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Many LightWave switches/dimmers require lamps that are compatible. In some cases of incompatible lamps the use of a Neutral will improve ( or enable ) the operation of the switch/dimmer.
When the Neutral is not provided to the switch/dimmer then there has to be enough current leakage through the lamp when OFF to power the electronics in the switch/dimmer.
Quoting from HERE
This may be because the lamps on the circuit are not compatible. First, check that the lamps are dimmable variants if they are LEDs. If the circuit load is low (i.e. <10W) try increasing the circuit load by changing or adding lamps (bulbs). Where possible, adding a neutral wire to the Dimmer will increase compatibility. Compatibility charts displaying Lightwave tested and approved LED lamps are available on lightwaverf.com.
yes I have been trying to wire them in to the new switch.
I'm using the same GU10 lamps downstairs with the new switches successfully so it seems to be compatible.
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It would appear that you have made an error at the light fittings wiring.
Not at the switches.
Have you blown any fuses ,or tripped and circuit breakers whilst working on light fittings or switches wiring ?
Not at the switches.
Have you blown any fuses ,or tripped and circuit breakers whilst working on light fittings or switches wiring ?
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no doubt its something I did while wiring things around the wrong way, but no breakers have tripped.
My screwdriver is not detecting any voltage from one or two of the wires. I don't know if that's part of the problem or if that's how it should be.
JH
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In essence , switches are simple ,each gang requires permanent live into it ,and when switch is "on" it connects to the out going switched live.
Lights that will not turn off ,but remain on irrespective of switch position are connected to a permanent live.
Ones that don't come on at all are not getting any voltage ,or they don't have a neutral connected.
Without knowing what the wiring is like / what you have done at the light fittings we are in the dark ( no pun intended)
A multimeter would be required to do some testing ,as neon screwdrivers are next to useless.
Lights that will not turn off ,but remain on irrespective of switch position are connected to a permanent live.
Ones that don't come on at all are not getting any voltage ,or they don't have a neutral connected.
Without knowing what the wiring is like / what you have done at the light fittings we are in the dark ( no pun intended)
A multimeter would be required to do some testing ,as neon screwdrivers are next to useless.
It concerning that you don't understand why you wouldn't detect a voltage in one wire. I don't mean that in a rude way.
A neon screwdriver is not a reliable method of checking for live. You need a multimeter.
You appear to have a switched live lighting circuit. When the light is off, one wire will be live and no circuit is made by the switch so the other wire should show no voltage. When the switch is closed and the circuit made, current passes from the live wire, through the switch, through the other wire (that was previously not live), and then lights the bulb. Both wires will then show as live.
A normal switch can be connected with the live wire connected to either side of the switch. The lightwave switches require the live wire to be connected to the live terminal and won't work the wrong way round. They do funny things if the bulbs are not proper dimmable bulbs.
@Jetheat , I owe you an apology- good work for taking that pic before you started modifying things.
You will need a multimeter to sort out which wire goes where (and avoid trashing your pricey smart switches).
The original switches appear to be dimmers?
As others have asked, have you changed ANY wiring APART from at that switch position?
If the lights are supplied from different circuits it is entirely possible that that new combined live setup won't work.
You need the multimeter to determine which cable of each pair is live and which is load. Do not rely on the core colours.
Once you've verified that, get 1 set of lights working properly (1 pair) before attempting to connect the 2nd set.
You will need a multimeter to sort out which wire goes where (and avoid trashing your pricey smart switches).
The original switches appear to be dimmers?
As others have asked, have you changed ANY wiring APART from at that switch position?
If the lights are supplied from different circuits it is entirely possible that that new combined live setup won't work.
You need the multimeter to determine which cable of each pair is live and which is load. Do not rely on the core colours.
Once you've verified that, get 1 set of lights working properly (1 pair) before attempting to connect the 2nd set.
Ok, I got the multimeter. I'll start the testing during daylight tomorrow.
I have changed wiring at other switch positions downstairs, but the old switch was still working before I took it off.
To start, what setting do I use and what do I connect where, for testing?
JH
I have changed wiring at other switch positions downstairs, but the old switch was still working before I took it off.
To start, what setting do I use and what do I connect where, for testing?
JH
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Was your old switch working ,after you worked on the light fittings that are operated by it ?
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So switch worked ,you then removed the wires from it ,wired upto new switch ,but what else did you do ?
Thats all I did.
The old switch had the blue in the Live and the brown in the X terminals.
But the documentation on the new light switch said to do it the other way around, and so I followed that initially.
I don't know if wiring it this way around shorted something to cause the new switch to not work as intended.
Then I rewired it in the same way as the old switch and still same type of result.
JH
Rewire the old switch as it was before and check to see if it still works as a start point. Make sure that you keep each pair of wire separate, ie each pair or brown and blue wires coming from the same sheath.
Was it your intention to control both lights with one switch and lose the independent control?
Was it your intention to control both lights with one switch and lose the independent control?
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