Need help,wiring a hallway. All wires red. Have multimeter

[wimbledon55]

Hi,

I recently changed my light switches. Tried to copy existing wiring but ran into trouble. With help from here, all is working now but hallway.

I think that all electricity comes from kitchen.

2 swithces in hallway. 1 at each end.

1. switch at door: L, L1 and L2. 3 red wires.

2. switch at other end: L, L1 and L2. 4 red wires.

Problem: When I get them both to work, you can only control the lights from one end.

Could someone talk me through on how to figure out how to correct this?
I have a multimeter. 2 x 2 meter single wire. coloured tags.

Thanks

 

[Bob Transformer]

if you are saying you can operate the same light from 3 places it will not work, since each switch you have mentioned only has 3 terminals.

your middle switch must have 4 terminals (look at the old one) its called an intermeadiate.

your next step is identify what wire goes whwere, which is what your meter is for.

when you have done that look in the "Sticky: Read Here First - FAQ - For reference" post /section

you will then see how to wire two way and intermeadiate.

oh, and the first thing, you are wrong, electricity does not come from kitchens, it comes from carpets.

good luck.

Bob

 

[wimbledon55]

Thanks Bob lol

Could you/someone tell me how to use the meter?

 

[Bob Transformer]

what do the instructions say?

(I already know what they say, point is each meter varies slightly about its lay out and my reply would be longer than the instructions, which means you would have to read a very long post, so why not read the instructions as it will be easier and quicker)

 

[wimbledon55]

I still need help...

 

[breezer]

I can see that, but as Bob says read the instructions, then ask

 

[wimbledon55]

what to do??

lol

without your help i cant fix the problem.

would it be ac or dc measurement?

 

[breezer]

no, but we could play 20 questions, but it will not do either of us any good.

read the manual one page at a time. no one expects you to understand it first time, i had to read mine at for least 30 seconds

if you have a really big dinner, do you eat it all in one go?
no you cut it to smaller pieces then digest it, add ketchup to the manual it will taste nicer

 

[wimbledon55]

could you just tell me what i need to look for:

1) dc voltage measurement

2) ac voltage measurement

3) dc current measurement

4) resistance measurement

5) diode measurement

6) transistor measurement

7) continuity test

Wich of these do i need to read about??

 

[jj4091]

2&7.

 

[breezer]

could you just tell me what i need to look for:

1) dc voltage measurement

2) ac voltage measurement

3) dc current measurement

4) resistance measurement

5) diode measurement

6) transistor measurement

7) continuity test

Wich of these do i need to read about??

to be honest, all of them.

but 5 + 6 I would leave for a few years.

They all have their own "uses"
put it this way.
you are asking how do i drive a car, but are hill starts required?

you need to learn all of it but as i said not all instantly. You will need to know about all (except 5 + 6) to be able to tell if something is right or wrong

I also suggest you get a 6v lamp and some wire and a 6v battery,(some wire would help) get it from maplin. its safe, and its amazing what you can learn with it. (you can still carry out 1,3,4 & 7 even though its only a battery and small lamp

 

[ColJack]

you have at one switch 3 reds..

these reds are...
strapper 1, strapper 2, and switched live to the light..

at the other switch you have 4 reds..

these reds are...
strapper 1, strapper 2, live in and live out..


At the switch with 4 wires..
much like your kitchen light you need to have 2 reds in com, and one in L1, but this time you need to have one in L2 as well

At the switch with 3 wires
you need to have one red in each com, L1 and L2...


to find the strapper...

turn off the power..
disconnect the switch with 3 wires.
connect all 3 wires into a terminal block.. ( together )

disconnect the switch with 4 wires.
using your multimeter set to continuity pick a red and connect to one of the leads..
using the other lead touch each remaining red in turn. if the meter bleeps or whatever it does to indicate continuity then you lucked out and found the 2 strappers first go..

if not, pick another red and repeat the above step untill you find the 2 wires connected to each other..

mark these somehow.. ( tape, marker pen, bit of cotton.. any way you can. )

if, for some reason you happen to find 3 wires connected together then I'm way off in the way i think it's wired and you're on your own from here on in...

now connect these 2 wires together in a terminal block and go and seperate the wires at the switch with 3 wires..

repeat the steps above to find the strappers this end.. and again mark them..

you will now know which reds are the strappers..

connect these into L1 and L2 of both switches..

at the switch with 3 wires you now have 1 red wire left.. this goes in the com..

at the switch with 4 wires you now have 2 red wires left.. these both go in the com of this switch..

refit the switches and turn the power back on..

it should now work.. if it does then I will accept any gratitide you care to show..
if not then you're no worse off than you were to start with...

 

[bernardgreen]

I did post earlier with the suggestion to extend one of the meter leads with a length of wire to reach the far switch to enable continutiy from end to end of each strapper.

While the method of shorting all three wires at one switch and looking for the pair that show as joined at the 4 wire switch will work by looking for a near zero reading it is not 100 % certain.

AT the 4 wire switch there may be "continuity" on other wires (not the strappers) if the live is a ring and low resistance reading from sneak cirucits via other lamps. ( One of the three wires goes to a lamp, through this lamp to neutral and then via other lamps and switches from neutral to the live looped into the 4 wire switch ) The meter will need to give a clear indication of near zero ohms when on the strappers and maybe 200 ohms via two cold lamps filaments in series.

 

[wimbledon55]

To ColJack:

Many many thanks for the help. I will try this tonight when home. Will let you know.

Again, thanks for the reply and effort.

 

[wimbledon55]

To bernarndgreen,

I will let you know how I got on. lol I'll be honest that this is really testing me as it is very tecnical. but i am sure with logic and help i can do it!

Many thanks