Helping with light switch wiring

[Akshay]

Hi guys I'm wondering if someone more knowledgeable than me can help with a wiring question I have.

I am renovating a flat and have come across a double gang light switch in the lounge which isn't switching on the lights. I have already checked the bulbs which are ok but on opening the light switch I found the connections look different to what I normally see.

I have attached pictures for you to check. I'm not sure if the previous tenants tampered with the switch so unsure how to rewire it. Could someone please check and tell me what changes I need to make in order to get the lights working again please? From what I remember when I took the picture last night the 2 twisted brown wires into the switch are live but the single brown isn't. I'm sure the switch needs a connection on the bottom of the switch too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Naz1977]

Hello

Can you confirm if you have 2 switches ( for instance at the either end of the wallway) that are supposed to turn on/off the lights? Or is it a single double gang switch?

This diagram might help you:

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/DataSheets/GET/GET_Ultimate_Instructions.pdf

But you might need to chase the wires to find out what goes where and ...

 

[securespark]

All the wires in that picture are on the Common side of the switches, so there is no circuit completed on switch on.

It looks as if the loop comes into and out of the switch, with an extra brown (can't see another blue but it is not clear) which would be the switch wire on L1. But that does not explain why there is a 2G switch there.

Or there could be one feed coming in, one switched feed going out to a light and an extra brown switch wire on its own that goes to other lights: there are many possibilities.

How many blues and browns are there? You may well need to invest in a multimeter to identify what each wire does.

 

[Akshay]

Thanks guys I will try and get a better picture tomorrow once back at the flat. The wires may well be in the wrong positions as that's how I found it. The blue wires are connected together into a chock block.

It's a single double gang switch, with one switch presumably turning on the lounge lights and the other switch turning on the small hallway light and there are no further separate switches doing anything else.

I do have a multimeter but unsure how I to test the wires. As it stands the only bare wires are 3 brown, 2 of which were twisted together, but as mentioned there is no loop wire. The earths all go to the face plate.

 

[Echo the husky]

How many blue wires are there? And is it just me or has this switch been wired with flex? The conductors all look stranded!

 

[EFLImpudence]

And is it just me or has this switch been wired with flex? The conductors all look stranded!

That doesn't matter, does it? It's allowed.

 

[Echo the husky]

It's just unconventional, perhaps DIY and the supply was connected via a plug somewhere.

 

[Akshay]

Guys, taking another look at the picture saved on my phone, there are 2 earth wires going to the faceplate. 2 blue wires connected together via a chockblock, and 3 brown wires, 2 of which are twisted together.

The current configuration has the twisted browns in the first common and the lone brown in the second common, with nothing connected in either L1 or L2 on both switches.

How should this be connected up, and what is the procedure for testing the wires using a multimeter? Do I find out which brown is hot first, meaning the other 2 should go to the light fittings once the switch is in the on position?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Do not assume anything.
The two browns twisted together - one may be the feed in and the other feed out to the next light/switch.

Buying a test meter without knowing how it works may cause more trouble.

One thing that you could try, Move the single brown wire to the L1 terminal on the same switch as the two brown wires. Does it work then?

Oh and turn the power off before you do anything. All the power, do not trust the labels on a fuseboard. I have been to many sites where the fuse marked "downstairs lighting" turns off some of downstairs, leaving others still live!

 

[Akshay]

Do not assume anything.
The two browns twisted together - one may be the feed in and the other feed out to the next light/switch.

Buying a test meter without knowing how it works may cause more trouble.

One thing that you could try, Move the single brown wire to the L1 terminal on the same switch as the two brown wires. Does it work then?

Oh and turn the power off before you do anything. All the power, do not trust the labels on a fuseboard. I have been to many sites where the fuse marked "downstairs lighting" turns off some of downstairs, leaving others still live!

Thanks for your reply. Yes I always turn off all the power when working on any kind of fittings. Light switches always get me confused when wired unconventially, e.g when not the simple 1 wire in and 1 wire out for a single switch.

One thing that I haven't tried is buying a new switch to rule out that so will try that too. When I started decorating this flat the switch was attached as normal so was confused why the lights weren't working but there was a faceplate screw missing from the faceplate indicating it had been off the wall at some point.

 

[Akshay]

Hi all I managed to get the switch working by connecting the single brown to the L1 terminal of the side where the twisted wires were. This now turns on the lounge light and the hall light but that leaves the other switch unused, which doesn't explain why there is a double gang switch installed in the first place.