Light Switch Question

[simps100]

Hi all

Hoping this will be a reasonable simple question!

In our place we have Hue lighting - back when we first got it throughout the entire house a couple years ago a friend of ours come and removed our light switches joining the cables with choc boxes to make sure no one ever used the switches instead of the hue switches - just so we could always control our bulbs.

I never really liked this a great deal - maybe it’s just me but I wanted to be able to control each rooms lights manually if I ever needed to do so - so I’ve been replacing the choc boxes with key switches - gives us the control of turning off manually if needed but avoids people acidently switching off the switches.

Have replaced most of them fine - but am abit stuck with the hall way, the hallway had 2 light switches, being able to control the lights from either one, I replaced one of them with a switch as I have before but the switch didn’t work, the lights were always on, I looked in the other blank box and noticed there were more wires than the other boxes and didn’t want to try anything without getting advice.

First picture is the box where I’ve put the switch which don’t work - lights always on regardless.

Second is the 2nd box where I’ve not made any changes.

And third is the back of the key switch.

Any tips on where I’m going wrong much appreciated, I was wondering if the switch should go in the 2nd box instead of the 1st.

Thanks

 

[Iggifer]

Yea you want the switch on the second box.
Leave all the cores from the 3C in a connector and then the red and black (with red sleeving) into the lives from your key switch.

They’re all connected together under that tape I presume so that’s why the lights are always on.

 

[simps100]

Yea you want the switch on the second box.
Leave all the cores from the 3C in a connector and then the red and black (with red sleeving) into the lives from your key switch.

They’re all connected together under that tape I presume so that’s why the lights are always on.

Thank you! - so just to be clear (so I know I’m understanding right!) from the wires on the right hand side leave the blue, yellow and red cables connected together in the choc box.

For the switch use the red from the left and the black with red sleeve from the right hand side?

Thanks!

 

[Iggifer]

Nope. Use the red and the black (red sleeve) from the right side of the box in the photo, leave the RYB in the other cable in the connector block

They’re both in the same cable and you can just about make out the sheath in that photo so that should help a little.

 

[simps100]

Great thanks very much - job to do when it’s light!

Cheers

 

[ban-all-sheds]

a couple years ago a friend of ours come and removed our light switches joining the cables with choc boxes to make sure no one ever used the switches instead of the hue switches - just so we could always control our bulbs.

I never really liked this a great deal

Why on earth did you allow someone to do something to your installation that you didn't like?

Before you did this

were the yellow & blue joined together?

 

[simps100]

Why on earth did you allow someone to do something to your installation that you didn't like?

Before you did this

were the yellow & blue joined together?

Yeha before I did that the yellow and blue were in one end of a choc box and the red in the other end. I’ve actualy put it back like that and will install the switch on the other box as mentioned - once the switch is done on the other box as mentioned above should I change something in this box too?

When I said unhappy I more meant I didn’t like not being able to turn off the lights in rooms when necessary.