PULL-CORD LIGHT SWITCH

[ginnie]

Please can someone help me with a really silly problem? I'm not a terribly good DIYer but I do try! I mistakenly took the bathroom pull-cord light switch down to change the cord - realising belatedly that of course I needed only to replace it from the little plastic doodah a few inches down from the rose - and now I can't get it to switch on and off when I put it back up. I took it apart and put it back together several times, trying to work out what wasn't doing what it was supposed to, but when I put it back up and put the power back on the light just stays on and won't click on and off.

And what's the difference between 'one way' and 'two way' switches?

Told you it was silly - but it's dreadfully frustrating!

 

[JohnD]

Are you trying to re-fit the old switch, or fit the new one?

how many terminals does the switch have. Do any of them have markings (letters or numbers).

How many wires do you have, what colour are they, are any of them bunched or attached?

Is your new switch one-way, two-way or Intermediate?

Does it have the same number of terminals as the old one?

 

[ginnie]

oh dear, I knew this would happen. It's like going abroad and reading a phrase from the phrase-book, then getting an answer you can't understand.

I'm trying to re-fit the old one.
What is a terminal?
The only wires are the two power ones from the ceiling, the red and the black; there are no wires inside the switch.

oh dear ...

 

[JohnD]

One red and one black, or two of each?

Aren't there any green-and-yellow, or bare copper?

A terminal is a sort of screw-down thing that grips the copper wire when you push it under the screw.

 

[JohnD]

Can you lay your hands on a digital camera, and put up a picture of the wires poking through the ceiling, and of the back of the switch?

 

[Pensdown]

Sould like he may have connected to L1 & L2?

The red cable should go into one marked common ~
and the black in either L1 or L2.

But as Johnd has said, a picture will be helpful

 

[JohnD]

Sould like he may have connected to L1 & L2?

It's permanently on. And might be a she. The last Ginnie I knew wore dresses.

 

[Pensdown]

and I read that twice

 

[ginnie]

you're absolutely right - jeans more often than dresses, but definitely of the female persuasion. Clearly electrics are a boy thing. Digital camera currently elsewhere but I could put a photo on when it comes home - but I guess I thought this was a really straightforward ordinary question which I'm just too dim to work out. Ho hum.

 

[ginnie]

sorry - just read your questions again.
One red wire, one black one, both coming from the ceiling and attaching to one terminal each. There are only two terminals, neither permanently attached (in other words they fall out when you turn the thing upside down); but one could go in the hole marked '1 way' or the hole marked '2-way'. I've put it in '1 way' because when I put it in the one marked '2 way' the light stayed off (as opposed to on).

 

[JohnD]

OK, one red wire and 1 black. The red one will be the live feed, and the black one will go to the lamp. The only problem should be deciding where to put them.

Don't like the sound of those terminals falling out, especially if you get to choose where to put them. Do you mean just the screw falls out, or more?

How many holes are there where a screw might go, and what letters and numbers are against each? Same question for the new switch, we might find it easier to puzzle out how to use that one. There ought to be a terminal marked "COM" which is where we'd like the red to go.

 

[swelec]

I took it apart and put it back together several times, trying to work out what wasn't doing what it was supposed to, but when I put it back up and put the power back on the light just stays on and won't click on and off.

Sorry if I am reading this wrong, but did you take the switch apart and now it's not making a clicking sound when you pull the cord ???

These are a bit humpty dumpty (difficult to put together again) and it may be stuck permanently in the on position

If this is the case, a new switch is your best bet. It will save hours of frustration believe me

 

[ginnie]

swelec, you've got it in one. That's exactly what happens. I did wonder whether I ought simply to replace the whole thing, but when I went into B&Q the choice was so wide that I chickened out and just bought a new cord. Basically, should I buy a 'one way' or 'two way' new switch, and what's the difference?

 

[JohnD]

Doesn't matter much, either will do the job. Get the one you prefer the look of or is cheaper but is by a good brand like MK.

they will both have an "in" terminal for the red wire, may be marked "COM" or "supply". the one-way will have one other terminal, may be marked "L1" or "load". the two-way will have an "L1" and an "L2" and it doesn't matter which you put the black wire into. Either will give you an on-off.

You shouldn't need to undo any screws except the terminal screws, enough to put the wires in and clamp them tight, and to take the cover off to feed the cable in.

A tip about light switches: 1-way and 2-way cost about the same. You can use a 2-way in a 1-way circuit, but you can't use a 1-way in a 2-way circuit. so if you are buying some as spares, get the 2-way.

2-way means you can operate the same lamp from 2 switches, like the landing light with a switch at the top of the stairs and another at the bottom.

 

[ginnie]

I think I see - or at least, I see a lot more than I did! Thank you all very much for your help. I'll have another go at it tomorrow ...