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Hi, i'm hoping someone can help me out before a mess something up 🙂
I have a light which is controlled by two different light switches in the lounge and i'm trying to get rid one of them which is a dimmer switch by fitting a blanking plate.
If I remove it, do I:
1) Just leave the wires blanked off in the wall using a connector block (I don't think this is right as suspect it will leave the light inoperative).
2) Connect the "tilde with arrow" wire to one or the other of the live/neutral and blank the other off (this seems like the right the thing to do?)
Pic of switch here:
https://imgur.com/a/yCBSQGT
Any help appreciated!
Cheers
Andy
IANAE but I have wired up 2 way switching before. it didn't look like that! normally there is a 3 + e, looks like possibly standard 2 + e has been used and a single strand, prob find that single red has a sniped off black and earth.
If that is the one you want removed I would open the other one up and look at it. you have to work out which one is the slave and which one is the main.
prob not making any sense Google 2 way switching!
should also be an earth between back box and face plate
Can't help with the original question but..
"should also be an earth between back box and face plate"
There is, via that metal strap connecting the mounting screw hole to the earth cable. It may not be your preferred way of doing it but it is regs compliant.
Two sparkies may never agree on the safest way to configure something, but they will agree that all DIY solutions are recklessly dangerous.
I don't think you should tinker with electrics if you're not sure. But I will offer this advice: in a lighting circuit all that a black wire means is that it's a black wire. Same for red.
There is neutral, constant live, and switched live. And 2 colours. Any wire could be anything.
He's right there- don't ask me how I know
is say all the reds and black are live as it's a 2 way switch. the wavy line symbol is 'probably' what us normally marked up 'com' these days. no neutral. these days wires are supposed to be sheathed to denote what they are if the colour dies not match use
I would prob get a spark to take a look because it looks a, old b, non standard.
're the earthing once the screw is removed and the faceplate pulled forward surely the back box is now no longer earthed. I thought the whole point of flying earths was to protect against when the faceplate was not connected to the back box (for instance painting and not turning the power off)
(for instance painting and not turning the power off)
Surely there's an element of darwinism and probability involved? If you've taken the faceplate off and not turned the power off you're more likely to jab a wet paintbrush into the live terminal (one thing) than you are to touch the back box and for the live wire to be contacting the back box (two things, even if one is easy), and for that fault to only have occurred after removing the faceplate from the box.
There's a live bit that's definitely live, and a metal bit that could potentially be live if there's a fairly specifically timed fault
L1 and L2 are the 2 switched lives coming from the other end of the 2 way, the other red then takes the switched live off to the rose...or off to the other switch...or brings the permanent live to that switch from the rose..or somewhere else if a real good diy-tastic piece of work. if you look in the other switch you'll have the red and black wires also in a L1 and L2, and again will have a single wire connected to the com.
to make your other light work as a normal single, you could connect l1, or l2, to the other red wire, and just terminate the other. there may also be much neater solutions...depends what wires you have in the switch you want to keep....and where the other end of the red is...and ...lets see a pic of the other switch, and a pic of the rose.... and are you competent enough to isolate and do some continuity testing to work out what end of what wire joins with what elsewhere? you may be able to totally disconnect all the wires you can see from the lighting circuit and get the other switch to work normally woth no need to run anything additional....possibly
The tilde is AC, with the arrow it signifies the C, COM or common connection.
As above, who knows just by looking at the back of one switch? Get an electrician in
Ey up,
I'm an electrician and there's some good advice above. Get an electrician in. For £30-60 it'll be done properly and safely and tested/proven to be so.
Any work done without a little bit of testing is guesswork and not worth doing.
I'd say you need to have a look in the other light switch to see what is what.
And then call a spark who will terminate the wires safely for you.
+1 for the box requiring an earthstrap.
Step away from the electrics you don't understand.
Pay a sparky.
Cheers for the advice, i'll have a look at the back on the other switch tonight to see whats what.
Failing this, time to get a sparky in!
Another idea, fit one of those key switches instead of a blanking plate... may look at bit naff tho