dimmer switch help please >>>>>

[blearyboy]

hi, i am replacing existing hall light switch with a dimmer switch and i have ran into problems. the existing hall light is controlled by 3 light switches, one at either end and one in the middle. The switches at either end are double switches controlling outside light / hall light and hall light / cupboard light. the middle light is single and just controls the hall light. So the middle light switch is the target of my attention, a straight swap for a dimmer.

the wiring of this switch has 2 black and 2 red and an earth which is joined together in the space behind the switch, it isn’t joined in the body of the switch, the red / blacks are from 2 cables, one cable containing red and black to l1 and one cable containing red / black to l2. the replacement dimmer, a push on/off and dimmer switch, has l1 l2 and c.

i have tried the following combinations bridging black, red to l1 and l2 and result is lights are permanently on

i tried red / black from each separate cable, red from cable one to red of cable 2 and black of cable 2 to black of cable 1, to l1 l2 and no functioning of lights

any help to get this functioning please

 

[EFLImpudence]

hi, i am replacing existing hall light switch with a dimmer switch and i have ran into problems. the existing hall light is controlled by 3 light switches, one at either end and one in the middle. The switches at either end are double switches controlling outside light / hall light and hall light / cupboard light. the middle light is single and just controls the hall light. So the middle light switch is the target of my attention, a straight swap for a dimmer.

No. This is an intermediate switch so what you want is not possible.
Abandon the idea.

You may be able to do it by obtaining a two-way master and two slave switches.

i have tried the following combinations bridging black, red to l1 and l2 and result is lights are permanently on

i tried red / black from each separate cable, red from cable one to red of cable 2 and black of cable 2 to black of cable 1, to l1 l2 and no functioning of lights

Trial and error is not the way to do anything electrical.

There will be instructions included in the pack. Please study them.

 

[blearyboy]

ok thanks for the reply, i will not continue with the intermediate switch idea as you suggest. my plan is to replace the double switche controlling the outside light and hall light with a single switch for the outside light and a dimmer for the hall light, this is right next to the mains board and is the first light from it, so question is will this be the 2 way master switch as you suggest?

 

[blearyboy]

ok i have unscrewed the double light switch from the wall, that controls the outside light and the hall light, i need to identify which wires to transfer to the single light switch and the dimmer switch. the double light switch is wired as follows

top of light switch has: com - red and l2 - red
bottom of the light switch has: l1 - black, l2 - red and com - 2 reds

any help greatly appreciated thanks

 

[blearyboy]

anyone?

 

[AndyPRK]

Why do u want a dimmer in the hall?

 

[flameport]

anyone?

The problem is that there are dozens of ways lighting circuits could be wired - particularly where there are multiple lights controlled by multiple switches.
There isn't some magic book which says 'red wire into hole B' or whatever - it all depends on how the installation was wired by whoever did it.

Without seeing the whole installation and testing to establish exactly how it is wired, there is no way anyone could know.

 

[blearyboy]

got 8 halogens down-lighters and is a little bright, its all one level no stairs, aesthetics i suppose. anyhoo i figured out connections to the dimmer and single switch by figuring out one side of the switch and group of connections c l1 l2 must be for one light and other side and group of c l1 l2 for the other. so i have wired them up and the cupboard light switch functions as does the dimmer for halll lights, the intermediate switch functions, but the switch at other end of hall trips out the fusebox, the outside light from this double switch works fine. so only problem is that the opposite end light switch for the hall light trips out.... any ideas?

i was thinking to disconnect the switch at opposite end of hall and replace with single switch controlling outside light as im not to fussed about having a switch for hall lights at that end tbh, but i am more concerned that i have wired something up incorrectly causing that switch to trip the fuse.....

 

[blearyboy]

ok so i removed one side of the switch (com l1 l2) that relates to the hallway switch in the double switch controlling hall and outside light. after doing this the outside light functions ok on a single switch but the hall lights wont function at all now, seems this is breaking the circuit by doing this... so i rewired the double switch back up and i am left with the previous situation a light switch that when activated trips out the light fuse

any ideas on how to make the circuit at this light switch.... bridging which wires? l1 has red l2 red and c black

 

[blearyboy]

ho hum lights tripped out once too often it seems, now hall lights dont function at all... rewired switch back to the original layout and still nothing.....

 

[blearyboy]

seems one of the face plate screws on the switch nipped a cable causing a short... stripped back to fresh cable and rewired to original layout. more head scratching on this dimmer situation

 

[winston1]

seems one of the face plate screws on the switch nipped a cable causing a short... stripped back to fresh cable and rewired to original layout. more head scratching on this dimmer situation

Electrics should only be done by people who know what they are doing. You clearly don't so pay a sparks to do it.

If your hall lights are too bright why not change the lamps to 20watt ones. Or even low power LEDs. B and Q do packs of 3 GU10 low power LEDs for £9.99.

 

[blearyboy]

job done, fitted separate dimmer and switch at one end of my hall, also dimmer in kitchen after bashing on with some more down-lighters in there too. also ran some co-ax into walls for wall mounted tv and wired up cable face plate and fused switch connection, fitting back plates and running cables, even making own bracket etc. fitted new programmable central heating stat too, in process of fitting trv's.
8)