I need to replace the front of my double-switch as the one pictured has a crack in the case and the back connector holder is also cracked however…

http://www.flickr.com/#/photos/30625376@N06/12569033375/

The two top ‘red’ wires should be earth/green n yellow no?

The bottom two should be red on the left, black on the right, red left then black.

Could it be that the two top red’s are really earth wires just coloured wrong?

I was going to do a straight-forward swap over (done this before on a double-switcher where one switch had collapsed).

Image has rotated left

cant see the photos but i seriously seriously doubt your red wires are earths.

IF you presume as such i guarantee your breakers will trip.

gonna link the photo properly for those of us that dont have a shitey flickr account

Is there another switch upstairs that controls the same lamp?

Could it be that the two top red’s are really earth wires just coloured wrong?

Easy to test, but your sparkie wants hanging if he did that.

You should be able to work out what’s what by looking at the diagrams on the back. Is it a light switch?

take wires out of L1 put into L1 take wires out of L2 put in L2 and so on.

Is there another switch upstairs that controls the same lamp?

Yes on the top landing (this one is on the ground floor)

take wires out of L1 put into L1 take wires out of L2 put in L2 and so on.

This is what I did with a goosed one in the kitchen

molgrips its a twin-switch light switch. One for the hallway and one for the upstairs light on the landing. One wire has popped out (black) because some rough-handed fool must have hit it too hard cracking the backing.

Only lives in the switch shirley!Earth should be in earth terminal attached to metal strip on face plate and to earth terminal in back box,although you have black wires in the switch they are not neutrals,they are at some point live,hence having L1,L2 etc.

I know what you mean divenwob- but the earth isn’t attached to the back of the faceplate surface. I ‘think’ its attached to the metal casing shown in the picture.

molgrips its a twin-switch light switch. One for the hallway and one for the upstairs light on the landing.

Then there’s likely to be loads and loads of wires in it. Do you know how lights and double lights are wired up?

But it’s the metal plate that needs earthing anyway, not the internals of a switch. So that if a life wire pops out and touches the metal casing, the screws on the outside don’t become live.

Doesn’t seem like you know what you are doing at all in this area 🙂

Just take the wires out and put them into the corresponding terminals on the replacement switch.

I always take a picture before I take any wires out.

your plastic faceplate wont need earthed – if your plastic faceplate goes live – you have bigger issues.

i have my metal faceplates earthed though.

the black wire will be a common between the two way switch (thats what allows you to turn it on and off from different points – without that the light would only come on with both switches were “on”

but you are over thinking this – you just need to transfer over. other than the conductor showing on that black wire – ill be surprised if theres anything wrong with that switches wiring.

earth connected to a switch? are you trying to create a 240v “shock-your-friend” boobytrap??

earth connected to a switch? are you trying to create a 240v “shock-your-friend” boobytrap??

My favourite party trick, that and cyanide in the punch!

As per TR above, just mark them up with a bit of tape and swap the switch,will check back in 20 mins……
DD earth on metal faceplates and back boxes.

That looks fine to me , back box is earthed, switch is earthed via the cover screws, nowt wrong with that on a dual switch – in lighting circuits especially double or treble switched circuits colour coding is not indicative of source bar for earth. Simple swap.

You will have a separate earthing point on a metal faceplate and then a small earth wire to the patress box. As you have no metal on the faceplate to be earthed then the wire goes direct to the patress box. Sometimes there is a metal earth strip that joins the screw holes on plastic faceplates and obviously sockets will have an earth connection for the earth pin. But this is a lightswitch.

Lighting circuits confuse me but the red won’t be earthed.

As above, just transfer the wiring like for like.

(I am not an electrician and uses the services of one when needed but can do the basics that are allowed quite competently)

Ok will swap over like for like.

A quick sanity check though- On the back of the replacement I’ve bought the *top two connections have ‘common’ written on each. An earlier poster mentioned that black was common. Yet if I mirror-wire it over surely the two top red’s will be going into the the 2 common connectors?

Just to clarify. Otherwise I’ll just swap straight over.

*I know the new face is the right way round as it say ‘top’ above.

You don’t normally have earth terminals on light switches.

no hora – read what i wrote – dont mirror swap – swap like for like – the terminals are named L1 – L2 and common for each switch .

if it comes out of l1 on switch 1 on face 1 it goes into l1 on switch 1 on face 2 – l2 on switch 1 face 1 into l2 on switch 1 on face 2

etc etc .

mirror swapping doesnt work as often the terminals are arse about tit if you are using a different brand.

Ah -got it and noted on 1 2 on each/will do. I didn’t realise that.

dont forget to turn the damned power off ! top tip – turn on the upstairs and downstairs light – if that switch is downstairs there is every chance that the downstairs lights on the downstairs breaker and the two way switch could be on the upstairs …. make sure both lights have gone out before you start…..

I know. I’ve been electrocuted a couple of times. I’m not a big fan of that feeling 😆

http://www.lightwiring.co.uk/two-way-switching-3-wire-system-old-cable-colours/

your double switch looks like;

1 normal light circuit, hall [2 wires]
1 2-way circuit, landing [3 wires]

looks to me like there is not enough wiring in your switch for it to be the feed from consumer unit – the switch with more wiring will be the landing one, so the circuit is probably on the upstairs breaker.

his feeds are probably run round the celing roses/junction boxes with just the split lives at all the switches no ?

^ most likely yes

what I mean is, the feed comes to rose/junction box and then to one of the switches, but it isn’t the one being swapped, its the upstairs one (which would have six wires not three).

btw, might not have roses or junction boxes (our place doesn’t)

Weird one (I haven’t swapped over the cover)- the landing light and the adjacent doorstairs front living room light have stopped working.

Ideas?

you’ve disturbed one of the four wires going to that landing switch and now a feed cable is no longer live
you’ve switched off a circuit at the CU
the bulb has gone
ley lines cross in your garden
wrong colour healing crystals in your lounge
gremlins

Ah I’m guessing the doorstairs wiring is more ‘connected’ to the upstairs light than I thought. I’d put back the face/but maybe not 100% to put the wire back into the cracked housing as I intended/turned off the downstairs light switch on the main junction box to make it all safe for now 🙂

Guess you live lived in Lancashire