Wiring Help, 2 way hall way switch.?

Question

I am replacing an old switch in my hallway, it has 2 switches on it, one for upstairs an one for down. There is also a switch upstairs. Both switches can turn on and off the lights as you'd expect.

I've removed the switch downstairs, it has 2 feeds (main wires) which contain 3 wires in each. Yellow, Red and Blue.

On the back of the switch I have

A COM

A L1

A L2

B COM

B L1

B L2

The new switch has L, L1, L2, L, L1, L2.

I've used the Yellow as the COM (L) but this make the switch downstairs only turn on and off the lights if the upstairs switch is on.

What am I doing wrong?

Many thanks.

Answer 1

Try the link below. Also you should sleeve the wires with brown sleeving to identify them as live.

Answer 2

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Da...

Use a volt meter to identify the wires then here's a good diagram should help u sort it out

Answer 3

The Red/Yellow/Blue colour scheme is the "old" one used until 2004 for 3-phase wiring. It is common to use that type of cable for 2-way switch circuits. The new (Euro) colours for 3-phase are Brown/Black/Grey, you may come across these cables in B&Q.

If you rummage around amongst the cores in the cable you'll probably find a bare copper earth wire too.

Identify the cable that runs between the upstairs and downstairs switches for the upstairs light. At one end of the circuit there will be additional wiring that goes to the light itself and also connects to the lighting power circuit.

It's a pity that you didn't identify the colour that went to the COM terminal, that would be the one for the L terminal.  

Note that although it's the upstairs landing light which is being operated, the light's power may (or may not) be connected to the downstairs switch.

Also, it's possible that the power may be taken by 'jumper' from the downstairs light switch.

It will have been whatever was easiest for the electrician who installed the system (he won't have worried about a DIY man changing things). This can be confusing if you're not aware of the possibility.

Look at the diagram and series of photographs shown by following the link below and all will be clear. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Answer 4

I'm accustomed to black, white, and red, but have no fear.

If this was wired right in the first place, you can't short things out by putting the wires in the wrong places, so you can experiment.  The worst that happens if you short all the wires is that the light stays on forever, or never turns on.

The wire that's supposed to go to COM is on one of the poles L1 or L2, you need to swap the wires.  You can do this by trial and error.

There is a logical way to work out which wires go where, but I'm having trouble explaining the algorithm here.  You can look up the wiring for a 2-way switch on the internet, to see how it's supposed to go.

Don't forget to turn the power off when arranging wires!

Answer 5

The coloured wire you have described are not for the uk,