Please help, dimmer switch (with link to pic)

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Just got home and the mrs has disconnected the dimmer switch that controls the light in the dining room. It is a switch with 2 buttons on the front, but only one of them worked/is needed. I have got three sets of wires coming into the patress box. Wire 1 = RED, BLACK, EARTH, Wire 2 = RED, BLACK, EARTH, Wire 3 = RED, BLACK, EARTH. The black wire from 1 is connected directly to the black wire from 3 via a jct box. In addition to this there is another RED wire that comes down into the patress box.

The switch is somehow connected to the landing light aswell, and when i've tried to connect the wires up, i can either get the landing light working, but not the dining room light, or get the dining room light working but not the landing light.

Can anyone tell me how to connect up the wires, I basically have a RED wire from wire 1, a RED and a BLACK wire from wire 2, a RED from wire 3, and then a single red on its own, that all need connecting. I have a diagram of it that i can email, dont know how to attach to this

Oh, and apparently there was another red wire connecting 2 of the terminals together one of which was COMMON

http://www.geocities.com/will_bones/index.html?1188059093718
 
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willbones said:
anyone got any ideas?

leave it out, its a sunny day, I am in the garden

you may also like to read the forum rules while you are waiting
 
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you really needa meter to find out what does what, as it depends on how who wired it, wired it.

the only thing i can suggest is connectit back as you did have it and link the 2 commons

one red is a live feed this goes to the commons (which is why its linked then 1 red in each of the L1 terminals (but it may not work :cry: )
 
dinning room light i hoe that isnt a neutrsal, if it is it will go bang

light switches dont require a neutral
 
Well its a black wire that is in the same 3 core as the red live wire that goes to the dining room light. The black wires from the perm live feed 3 core and from the hall way light 3 core are wired together, but the one from the dining room light isn't. On the original wiring the black wire and red wire from wire 2 were in L1 and L2. How else should i connect it? I've labelled where all the red wires go, and the one free black wire comes from the light. Im still confused. One thing that did happen when i was trying to sort it, was i tried to connect the perm live with the red wire to the light but nothing happened, Then the black wire touched the back box and the light came on for a second before all the electric tripped out.
 
Willbones

Just because you have a black cable it doesn't mean its a neutral.
It could be the switch LIVE,
(A cable returning the live feed to the light it self )
Though it should have a red or brown sleeve or tape on it to indicate this.

Good luck
 
im pretty sure that it is a return live rather than a neutral. If it is, which terminal should i connect it into?
 
willbones said:
im pretty sure that it is a return live rather than a neutral. If it is, which terminal should i connect it into?

looking at your picture, the switch on your right needs altering. Start by moving the red wire which is in L1 and place it into C with the other red and then connect the black wire which is in L2 into L1.

Worth A try, However be sure that the black is NOT a nuetral!!

Hope this helps.
 

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