Adding another light switch and lamp holder

[Lieutenant Columbo]

Either to a terminal in a metal back box or a separate piece of connector block to keep it isolated.


SPare ?
There is no terminal (brass connector) in it.


Can you see a similarity?


Neutral is the name of the conductor which completes the circuit from the load back to the supply.
It is not a name of a black or blue piece of wire.
The wires can be anything we want them to be; they do not know what colour they are.

If you have taken a Live/Neutral/Earth from a supply then the Switched Live will be the same colour as the Supply Live, won't it?


It is in your case, but not always.
Common means it connects to 1 or 2.


There is no terminal in SP.
The switched live may be connected to either 1 or 2 - depending on which position you want the switch rocker to be when on or off.


You cannot earth plastic.

Sorry for the confusion here. I appreciate you helping me.

I'll try my best to expain what i have.

First of all let me say that i had to change the new intended light switch. The picture of the one i posted was faulty. The one I have now is labled feed live 1 and feed neutral 1. Above that I have Load 1 and load 2.
I also have some 1.5mm cable (two brown wires and an earth) and a lamp holder.
Here's what I've done:

I have wired from the common on the existing loft light switch to the live 1 feed on the new switch to give the new light switch power. The other brown wire is not currently wired in. I have wired from the Load 1 terminal to the lamp holder. The other wire from the cable going from the load side to the lamp is not wired in at present but when i turn on the new switch the load 1 AND the wire that it not wired in to anything is live! How is this possible?

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

I think I'm back feed now. I've connect the remaining brown from the loft switch (L2) to the FEED 2 on the hall switch. Load live 1 and load neutral on the hall switch now go to the cup light.

It is "working" after a fashion. If i turn the loft light on the cupboard light stops working. Also, i can only power a 60 Watt bulb in the cupboard, if I try a 100 Watt bulb nothing happens.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You have bought the wrong kind of switch (a Double Pole one) - although you can use it, and

the wrong kind of cable - although you can use it by sleeving the Neutral with blue at all its connections.

This is what you should have:

The wattage of the bulb doesn't matter. I suggest your 100W is faulty.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

You have bought the wrong kind of switch (a Double Pole one) - although you can use it, and

the wrong kind of cable - although you can use it by sleeving the Neutral with blue at all its connections.

This is what you should have:

View attachment 126821


The wattage of the bulb doesn't matter. I suggest your 100W is faulty.

Ok, I'll take another look. The cable and switch were in my shed. I don't remeber how they came to be the bulb works fine in my lamp...

The only existing wires i have to work with are a red one going to the common and a black one gong to L1 on the loft switch. No neutral.

 

[EFLImpudence]

You said you had a cable with two browns.

Anyway - L is Red and N is Black.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

You said you had a cable with two browns.

Anyway - L is Red and N is Black.

The two browns are my cable. The wires in the existing loft switch are red and black. The black has a red sheaf on it.

 

[winston1]

The other wire from the cable going from the load side to the lamp is not wired in at present but when i turn on the new switch the load 1 AND the wire that it not wired in to anything is live! How is this possible?

With questions like that I don't think you have the ability or knowledge to do this job safely.

The answer is that it is energised through the load (light bulb), or via capacitive coupling from the adjacent live wire if there is no load.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

With questions like that I don't think you has ability or knowledge to do this job safely.

The answer is that it is energised through the load (light bulb), or via capacitive coupling from the adjacent live wire if there is no load.

With grammar like that I question your ability to communicate effectively in this forum. Only joking.

Look, I have a working light. It isn't perfect, but I'll get there, hopefully with your help.

I'm a firm believer in trying to do things for yourself. Plus people are constantly trying to rip me off. You can't beat the feeling of having accomplished something for yourself anf learned new skills along the way. Throwing money at a problem is a bit of a turn off.

I think what I'll do is start at the beginning, I.E, learm how a switch operates. What exactly the terminology means etc.
If you want to help, you could start there if you like.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

Yes if there is a Neutral there.

The blue ( or black ) wire connected to the switch is NOT a Neutral. It is Switched Live.

There isn't a neutral there. That was my first problem. The is only a red to the comkn and a black (red sheafed) to L1.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

 

[winston1]

With grammar like that I question your ability to communicate effectively in this forum. Only joking.

Corrected.

 

[winston1]

View attachment 126828

Without a neutral it will never work properly.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

Corrected.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Lieutenant Columbo]

Without a neutral it will never work properly.

Yeah, I'm beginning to realise that. So how do i make it right? why doesn't the loft switch have a neutral? If I were to take a look at the other swiches in my house would i find others without neutral wires?

 

[winston1]

Yeah, I'm beginning to realise that. So how to i make it right? why doesn't the loft switch have a neutral? If I were to take a look at the other swiches in my house would i find others without neutral wires?

Most likely. A switch does not need a neutral, and if one is present it will just be looped out in a connector block. The neutral will be at the light fittings. The Wiki explains it well.