Can it work and still be ruined?!

[piggin0wires]

Hi there, I would really appreciate some help. Have just come to the end of a big internal house renovation, and am quite new to all things electrical.
Basically today I have just finished replacing all the sockets in my house and all the light switches. They all work fine and don't heat up inside etc.

The thing is though, some of the switches I used differed from the type that were there already. I bought them from focus and they were the right type, but instead of having 1,2,3,4 on them they had three holes, one of which was "com"

My questions are as follows. All the sockets had earths in their back boxes, which were tight and I left alone. Could the way I wired it be dangerous and would not be caught by the RCD (which does trip the lights if there is a short). Would it normally work fine but still be hazardous?

Is it ever right (as I have done twice) to wire two reds to one com (it happened when the wire appeared to go through the wall into the next room)?

Please someone technical put my mind at ease!!!

Best wishes and thanks for a really helpful site - phyllis

 

[GaryMo]

Hi there, I would really appreciate some help. Have just come to the end of a big internal house renovation, and am quite new to all things electrical.
Basically today I have just finished replacing all the sockets in my house and all the light switches. They all work fine and don't heat up inside etc.

That's really good to hear. Hope you managed to perform other testing too?

The switches that had 1, 2, 3 and 4 on them, were they intermediate?
You seem to have replaced a switch which had 4 terminals with one that has 3 terminals though you state they were the right type?
Were all 4 terminals used on the old switch?[/b]

 

[piggin0wires]

Hi there, thanks for your reply. No, they weren't all filled, at the top 1 and 2 were filled, but inside they seemed to some to the same thing and so was 3. I don't know about intermediate. could be 3. What other testing do you suggest. I don't know how to use a multimeter, and wouldn't know what to look for

 

[jj4091]

Can it work and still be ruined?! I am afraid the answer to that question is yes. You sound out of your depth,please, call someone in who knows what they are doing.

 

[GaryMo]

What other testing do you suggest. I don't know how to use a multimeter, and wouldn't know what to look for

It's probably pointless explaining (no offence intended) as you would also need to understand the results obtained and compare them to allowed values from BS7671. You would also need calibrated equipment which you probably won't have.

It's not really a job for a DIY'er (completing a MWC assuming it's only accessories that have been changed) or somebody who freely admits to being 'quite new to all things electrical'.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Have just come to the end of a big internal house renovation, and am quite new to all things electrical.

Just trusting to luck are you that there's nothing wrong with the electrics that will require floors to be lifted, ceilings taken down, walls to be chased......