Light switch confusion

[BBee1]

Hi All
Please can I ask for a bit of clarification. I have a basic knowledge of wiring but this has confused me. I have attached a drawing of the light swtich i was looking at. It is one of two switches for a simple single wall light, so I can understand the use of the 3 core. I am confused with the two neutrals as I don't understand why they have been connected to each other. There are 3 cables behind this switch which threw me in the first instance and it doesn't help that it is all in the old wiring colours.

Any clarification would be gratefully received.

Please note the EARTHs haven't been included for ease of the image, but the are there..

Also, is it acceptable to put all 3 earths into a single sleeve or is that practice now no longer encouraged?

I look forward to your comments many thanks
BBee1 View media item 50538

 

[viewer]

Don't understand your drawing, but from the text I'd say that you have at switch 1 a wire to the lamp and two from switch 2 (strappers).
At switch 2 you have the two wires which are strappers and one wire which is the power supply.
The neutral enters the circuit via the switch 2 backbox and is joined to the lamp via the switch 1 backbox, so expect a connection of neutrals in both switch enclosures. It is not connected to the switches themselves and is not switched.
There is a Wiki above with several diagrams to help

 

[ericmark]

I will assume one cable feeds the switch, and one goes to light with centre going to other switch.

What you call L1 is often marked common and I can't see anything wrong.

Normally we don't take the neutral to the switch but there is nothing to stop one doing it the way you show.

So what's the question?

 

[plugwash]

Hi All
Please can I ask for a bit of clarification. I have a basic knowledge of wiring but this has confused me. I have attached a drawing of the light swtich i was looking at. It is one of two switches for a simple single wall light, so I can understand the use of the 3 core. I am confused with the two neutrals as I don't understand why they have been connected to each other.

Light switches in the UK don't normally switch the neutral so there is nothing unusual about connecting two neturals together.

What you have is a perfectly normal two-way switching setup. The only thing slightly unusual about it is that rather than a single cable carrying permanent live and switched live you have an incoming cable carrying permanent live and neutral and an outgoing cable carrying switched live and netural.

 

[ljarrald]

C2 goes to the second switch, X is the supply, and Y is the light feed.

X and Y could be either C1 or C3.

 

[viewer]

Your drawing is fine - it's my monitor! Apologies. Hope all OK now.

 

[securespark]

My interpretation is that the 3 core is the cable to the other switch (the wall light is controlled by two way switching).

One T&E is the incoming feed, the other is the outgoing cable to the light.

Hence the blacks connecting the neutral through to the fitting.

Which agrees with eric's, plug's & lj's interpretations.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

It is one of two switches for a simple single wall light, so I can understand the use of the 3 core. I am confused with the two neutrals as I don't understand why they have been connected to each other.

As already mentioned by a number of members, it's a "two set way" up with neutral looped in at switch, the neutral is not switched and needs to be unbroken.

There are 3 cables behind this switch which threw me in the first instance and it doesn't help that it is all in the old wiring colours.

You don't normal find 3 cables but as the neutral has been looped in, most likely done that way to make the circuit.

 

[BBee1]

Thank you all for the clarification. It is how I thought it was - they used 3 cables instead of one. Just wanted to make sure my parents weren't going to fry themselves when turning on the light as my 'education' has been on the latest cable colours and the looped in method.

many thanks