problem with more than one dimmer switch

[waterwings]

I have installed a dimmer switch - 1000w on a 3 switch circuit to power 600w of tungsten lighting. This works fine except that my lights in another room controlled by a seperate 600w dimmer go out when I switch off the 1000w dimmer switch and only come on again as I increase the 1000w dimmer switch to near its maximum. The two rooms are on the same cicuit to the fuse box.

To try and find out what was happening I replaced the 1000W dimmer with a standard off/on switch. The lights controlled by the 600w dimmer then work with this switch either off or on.

What is the 1000w dimmer doing to the 600w controlled lights? When the 1000w dimmer is replaced by an off/on switch the 600w dimmer lights work perfectly as they do when the 1000w dimmer is turned up high

Should I try and connect this 3 switch plus dimmer to another fused circuit - this seems a bit drastic

 

[securespark]

When you say a three switch circuit, do you mean that you have three switches all controlling the same light/s?

When you changed the 1kW dimmer for a plateswitch, are you saying the lights in the other room (600W dimmer) stayed on regardless of the position of the plateswitch?

If this is the case, I think you may have crossed your wires somewhere.

My initial thought was if the other room was going off with the 1kW dimmer, then there must be a feed wire to the other room that you have connected to the switch side, not the feed side of the 1kW dimmer.

What have you actually done in terms of changing switches etcetera?

Have you just replaced one switch with this 1kW dimmer?

I'm trying to figure out where a mistake may have been made.

 

[waterwings]

thanks for your prompt response

yes - 3 switches operating one set of lights

yes - 600w lights work when plate switch replacing 1000w is off or on

further info may help -I interrupted the wire going from common on the 2 way switch to the light source to l1 on the dimmer. the return then went from the common on the 1000w dimmer to the light source

Why should the other room (600w) lights work when 1000W dimmer is turned up high? I am puzzled

To answer your last but one point the dimmer was an extra fitting to a 2 gang 2-way switch. i did not want to replace the two gang switch as the other gang operates hall lighting. this works correctly and is not connected to the 1000w dimmer

 

[breezer]

thanks for your prompt response

yes - 3 switches operating one set of lights

To answer your last but one point the dimmer was an extra fitting to a 2 gang 2-way switch. i did not want to replace the two gang switch as the other gang operates hall lighting. this works correctly and is not connected to the 1000w dimmer

so are you saying you now have 3 switches controlling the one set of lights?

so it is 2 way and you wired in a dimmer as well, so that as it is two way you can dim it from either switch?, both swithes being dimmer switches?

if this is the case and it does sound like it from your line
Why should the other room (600w) lights work when 1000W dimmer is turned up high? I am puzzled

you can not have 2 ordainairy dimmer switches controlling the same light.

OR you have wired the new dimmer in series with the wrong lights which is why the other dimmer will not work, because its supply is being dimmed by the new dimmer you put in, but when new dimmer is on max, it is not dimming so allows other dimmer to work.

Having said all that, if i have the wrong end of the stick, lets start again

What did you have and what have you got now.

i.e how many switches controlling how may lights, as in 1 2gang 2way for lounge, other half controls dinning room other end of dinning room is 1 gang 2 way switch.

in essence what you are doing is wondering why some one just spat out the cup of tea you gave them because you didn't say it has goats milk, you should ask first

 

[securespark]

Am a little puzzled. Can you post a diagram of what you had before (in one colour) and what changes you made to the original circuit (in another colour)?

This will help a gr8 deal!

 

[breezer]

you and me both securespark.

I think he has wired in an extra dimmer to a t way lighting circuit which already has a dimmer on it, either that or the new dimmer is in series with the lights for another room.

What say you?

 

[securespark]

I'm not sure if there is a second dimmer, but this bit is still tying the grey matter in knots:


further info may help -I interrupted the wire going from common on the 2 way switch to the light source to l1 on the dimmer. the return then went from the common on the 1000w dimmer to the light source

He's broken into the common (live or switchwire?????) with a one way dimmer.......oh god it's too late for this!!!!

What I'm not sure is which common? the three-way circuit I guess.

Hmmm. No doubt all will become clear.

 

[waterwings]

thank you Breezer and Securespark for your responses

I think the circuit in some way was in series so I changed a wire over from the common on the 2 way switch that is tied in with the 1000w dimmer to the 2 way switch that runs the (non dimmed) hall lights.

EUREKA!!! - it works. the 600w dimmer lights work fine no matter what position the 1000w dimmer control is in. The 1000w dimmer lights also work.

again thanks for your input