Multiway switching

[SUNRAY]

Another thread reminded me of a little domestic job a month or so back, customer redecorated and removed all 3 switches.


All switches are intermediates.

Fortunately he labelled every wire with masking tape and restored the wiring to his labels which were all still in place (preventing me taking any useful pictures) everything works OK except with ‘Hall 2’ up the hall light is off regardless of the other 2 switches, with ‘Hall 2’ down 1 & 3 work as expected.


It was quickly apparent that there is some sort of junction box involved, which the customer is unaware of, and one of the ‘Hall’ switches is the intermediate and needed an additional wire but which?

The ‘useful’ customer helped me buzz out the system which took well over an hour as he kept flicking switches and/or putting the probe in the wrong place.

 

[bernardgreen]

Hall 2 will never complete a circuit between the Red and Blue

1 connects to 3 and 2 connects to 4

or CLICK the switch and then

1 connects to 4 and 2 connects to 3

At no time ( or switch position ) will 1 ever connect to 2

 

[EFLImpudence]

Presumably Hall 2 - as 1 & 3 work as they should with 2 in one position.

Also red is not connected to terminal 4(Com) but with junction boxes it could be wired any old way.

 

[SUNRAY]

Hall 2 will never complete a circuit between the Red and Blue

1 connects to 3 and 2 connects to 4

or CLICK the switch and then

1 connects to 4 and 2 connects to 3

At no time ( or switch position ) will 1 ever connect to 2

Correct, but it's not supposed to.

 

[SUNRAY]

I'll add in little snippets, roughly in the order I discovered them.
'Hall 2' red is perm live.

 

[SUNRAY]

Hall 1 red is sw live to lamps (4 of them but irrelevant).

 

[EFLImpudence]

'Hall 2' red is perm live.

If you mean the supply live, then it's not wired correctly - blue to terminal 3?,

but it must be two strapper system and Hall 3 must be the actual imtermediate.


I'm not sure what we are supposed to be discovering.
Has it anything to do with the switch in neutral you mentioned?

 

[SUNRAY]

If you mean the supply live, then it's not wired correctly - blue to terminal 3?,

but it must be two strapper system and Hall 3 must be the actual imtermediate.


I'm not sure what we are supposed to be discovering.
Has it anything to do with the switch in neutral you mentioned?

No nothing to do with neutral, the only neutral that appears in the diagram are choc joints for WC and LOBBY.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Are what you said were PL and SL unalterable?
That is does PL come direct from supply and does SL go direct to lights?


Why has outside switch got three wires?

Can we make Hall 1 the intermediate?

 

[SUNRAY]

SW live (direct to lamps) also appears at Hall 2 blue as well as Hall 1 red so these are joined somewhere.

 

[SUNRAY]

Are what you said were PL and SL unalterable?
That is does PL come direct from supply and does SL go direct to lights? Correct


Why has outside switch got three wires? 2 way, this switch by front door, another by patio door.

Can we make Hall 1 the intermediate?

We have to make one of them the intermediate.

 

[SUNRAY]

Hall 1 yellow and blue buzz out to Hall 3 Edit. Sorry some of my notes I took are in a real mess

 

[SUNRAY]

Hall 2 yellow took a while to trace due to the customers enthusiasm of moving, moving the probe and flicking switches, it was variously proved to be: hall 1 red, yellow and blue and Hall 3 red, yellow and blue. I felt it was Hall 3 red and eventually disconnected it at both ends to prove it. This was the only wire I did this with so again this changed colour in a joint.

 

[EFLImpudence]

I'm getting really lost.

 

[SUNRAY]

I'm getting really lost.

Yep so was I.

It didn't help having an over enthusiastic helper and most of the wires covered/obscured with masking tape.