Help with dimmers!

[rob33]

I need help installing a dimmer.

I have two lights in the lounge and one light in the kitchen. The kitchen has a triple switch unit which controls all three lights and the lounge has a double switch to control the two lounge lights.

I am replacing the triple light switch in the kitchen with a double dimmer unit, one dimmer for the kitchen light and one for the two lounge lights.

The kitchen light works fine, but the lounge lights are permanently on and cannot be controlled by either switch box. The lounge lights each have a red, blue and yellow wire at the kitchen outlet and I am combining them into the one dimmer, ie, two red into one common, two blue into L1 and two yellow into L2. Can two lights be combined into one dimmer and still be controlled by separate switches at another place?

Thanks

 

[ban-all-sheds]

You can combine as many lights as you want into one dimmer, provided you do not exceed its rating.

If the dimmer switch that you have is designed to be one end of a 2-way switch circuit then you will be able to connect it up as you want, but that would need the dimmer control to connect COM to L2 when it was "off".

Did it not come with any instructions?

This document shows how 2-way switches are wired up http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/DataSheets/MK/WiringDiagrams.pdf. You will need to wire your dimmer as if it was one of the 2-way switches.

However - I suspect that it may not work the lights in the way than you want. With the dimmer "off", the switch will toggle the lights between on and off, and with the dimmer "on", the switch will toggle them between dim and off.

IMPORTANT - if the instructions with the dimmer don't make it clear, then using a multimeter or a battery. a torch bulb and some wire you must work out which terminal is connected to COM when the dimmer is "off" - ignore whether it is called L1 or L2, it is this one which you must regard as L1 when following that diagram - i.e. do not connect the live feed to the output of the dimmer.

 

[breezer]

you may also wish to try here if you can not open .pdf files or like me can not see the page refered to just now

 

[rob33]

Thanks.

The middle image in the three-way diagram shows what is happening in the switch I am replacing. Red, green and bue coming in and red green and blue going back out. So i will connect the the red's/common together and put the incoming green and blue in L1 and the outgoing green and blue into L2. Will have to buy some connectors to clamp the common's together

Cheers

 

[breezer]

GREEN? green is the earth, you should have red blue and yellow

 

[rob33]

Sorry, yellow!