Help with lights disaster

[bev7o9]

Hi, can anyone help me i have no lights at the moment! In my kitchen i had a switch at the back door which turned one kitchen light on and a double switch at the kitchen/living room door that turned on both kitchen lights. My second light (the one that could be swiched on at either door) stopped working and i had and electrician friend look at it. he said it was "buggered" and the best thing was to take it out of action. he removed the double switch and put a single on it and removed the wiring from the switch at the back door. Yesterday i tiled my kitchen and when i un screwed the light switch it started flickering so i called a friend to come check out the light, he tightened the switch ect but then the breaker wouldn't switch back on. he tried for ages and couldnt get it to work and had to leave so now im without lights. I just bought a 2 way switch thinking if i put it back as was it should work. however now i've removed the old switch i have so many wires im not sure where to put them. I have 3 main cables, 2 have red, black and a sleeved wire grounded to the back plate and a 3rd cable with red,blue and yellow wire. can anyone tell me where to put these? my double switch has the usual 2x L1, L2 and common.
apreciate any help as it goes dark early now and cooking via candle is no fun!
bev

 

[Space cat]

The first thing I would do is to isolate all the red, black, yellow and blue wires in choc block and see if you can get the breaker to close. (You can leave the yellow/green sleeved wires attached to the back plate.)

If it can be closed, THEN we can start working out which wire goes where. I'll be watching this space.

 

[bev7o9]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I did as you said and the breaker came back on ok.

 

[Space cat]

Step two:

With the breaker off (obviously), join a red wire to the black one in the same cable. Can you close the breaker? Does a light come on when you do? Try the same thing with the red and black in the other cable.

 

[fattony]

ask your electrician friend to come and sort it out, you need to find the switch wire which he could do easily with a meter

 

[bev7o9]

Hi, i tried putting the red cable into com and the black into L1 and when i flipped the switch one did nothing the second blew the breaker
I have a meter as i do basic electrical stuff at work on my projectors/rectifiers.... just never attempted anything at home right now replacing diodes seems a lot easier lol.

 

[bev7o9]

Hi, i did as instructed and joined the red/black from the same cable togther. when i did it to the first cable the breaker just wouldnt reset. When i did the second and tried to reset the breker it actually sparked!

 

[Spark123]

Step two:

With the breaker off (obviously), join a red wire to the black one in the same cable. Can you close the breaker? Does a light come on when you do? Try the same thing with the red and black in the other cable.

That has got to be some of the worst advice I have read on here I'm afraid.
OCPDs are not made to be used in this way.

OP, you need to identify what cable goes where and what it does. If you cannot do this I strongly advise you to get someone in with the correct test equipment to do the work for you.

 

[bev7o9]

Cheers for the advise, guess ill look for an electrician and hope i get a decent one!

 

[Space cat]

That has got to be some of the worst advice I have read on here I'm afraid.
OCPDs are not made to be used in this way.

I agree! The words Space cat and plonker come to mind! If I'd stopped to think a little longer I would have suggested using a light bulb to link red and black together.

I'm left with a puzzle though --

Hi, i tried putting the red cable into com and the black into L1 and when i flipped the switch one did nothing the second blew the breaker

.

One did nothing? And yet a straight connection of red to black wouldn't allow the breaker to reset? That doesn't make sense.

What also doesn't make sense is that one of the lights worked until bev7o9 disturbed the switch - but not now!

 

[bev7o9]

Hi, to helps make sense of whats happened i thought id explain how i found it. The double switch had be replaced with a single so when i took the switch off it was wired .... The two black and one blue were connected together via a connection block. the yellow was just loose and the 3 reds were in the 3 connections on the switch. when i had all these problems i figured it would be easier to stick the old double switch back on to save all these intermitten problems.
Not the best idea i had! I tried to look at my living room lights to copy them but the wiring on those is also wierd. (if switch 2 is off i cant turn them on at switch 1 lol)
I have a friend doing learing to be an electrician who is gonna call sun to have a look so guess ill just cook in the dark till then.
Thanks for all the advise

 

[Space cat]

The two black and one blue were connected together via a connection block. the yellow was just loose and the 3 reds were in the 3 connections on the switch

"Well that answers a lot of questions. I just wish I knew what they were!" (DCI Barnaby).

I had assumed that the original wiring made sense. Bad plan!

 

[bev7o9]

Lol it is a mistery! I am one of those who doesnt like to be beaten by things so ive just pulled the wires out of the wall where the second switch was (the one that only operated one of the lights) and found a cable with a red/black and one with a red/blue/yellow. now im thinking the red/black goes to the light fitting, the red/blue/yellow goes over to the other switch and over at the double switch the extra red/black is for the other light fittingwant to give it a go but still even knowing this i cant work out where all these 5 wires would go and a com/L1/L2 connection or how to match them with the doeuble on the other wall. am i just stupid or is it still as confusing?

 

[daytona]

Lol it is a mistery! I am one of those who doesnt like to be beaten by things so ive just pulled the wires out of the wall where the second switch was (the one that only operated one of the lights) and found a cable with a red/black and one with a red/blue/yellow. now im thinking the red/black goes to the light fitting, the red/blue/yellow goes over to the other switch and over at the double switch the extra red/black is for the other light fittingwant to give it a go but still even knowing this i cant work out where all these 5 wires would go and a com/L1/L2 connection or how to match them with the doeuble on the other wall. am i just stupid or is it still as confusing?

usually it goes like this ahem!
get the cable with the red blue yellow and put the yellow in the common on one switch put the blue in L1 and red in L2.
then copy those connections on the 2 gang switch.
go back to the first switch and put the two core red and black across L1 and L2. thats the 2 way sorted.at the 2 gang switch put the remaining 2 core red and black across common and L1.
switch on and it should be happy days.
one thing though.what was that connector block all about with the blacks and blue in it.?
your original problem could have been a dodgy fitting isolate this.
all that said though i would never recommend a diy enthusiast to get that involved with this type of problem

 

[RF Lighting]

one thing though.what was that connector block all about with the blacks and blue in it.?

Sounds like neutrals at the switch.

That would explain why the breaker keeps tripping when red / black are connected together.