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Light switch wiring advice (4 gang)

  • 26-01-2021 5:09pm
    #1
    spuddy
    Registered Users Posts: 775 ✭✭✭


    Can anyone help me work out this 4 gang light switch wiring?

    1. Downlighters
    2. Island lights
    3. Under and Over cabinet lights
    4. Kitchen table light

    What I want to achieve
    1. & 2. no change
    3. Under cabinet lights
    4. Over cabinet lights (kitchen table light will be removed)

    IMG-20210119-110758-2.jpg

    I thought I could move one of the top wires from 3 to 4, to split the cabinet lights, & remove the existing top wire in 4, which I thought would connect to the kitchen table light.

    When I did that, the kitchen light continued to work as before, and the over cabinet lights stayed on permanently.

    Suggestions?


Comments

  • #2
    alan4cult
    Registered Users Posts: 1,583 ✭✭✭alan4cult


    Are these all 1 way switches? They look to be anyway

    3 is wired a bit different. The live looks to be going to L1 but it should be going to common. It doesn't make a difference but it would be practice to keep it common.

    Its pretty simple then, they are just basic switches so find the browns that go to the various lights and put them at the L1s where you want them.

    The reason it continued lighting, is because the top (common) is permanent live except for switch 3 which somebody has done it the other way around for some reason.


  • #3
    meercat
    Registered Users Posts: 4,725 ✭✭✭meercat


    Put it all back the way it was and check everything works as it did originally (including 2 way switching if there’s another switch point in the room)

    Send a photo then

    It may not be possible to split cabinet lights depending on the way it’s currently wired.


  • #4
    Risteard81
    Registered Users Posts: 2,567 ✭✭✭Risteard81


    Lots of exposed copper on those terminations.


  • #5
    spuddy
    Registered Users Posts: 775 ✭✭✭spuddy


    Risteard81 wrote: »
    Lots of exposed copper on those terminations.
    Don't like that either, will improve the wiring connections when making the change.


  • #6
    spuddy
    Registered Users Posts: 775 ✭✭✭spuddy


    meercat wrote: »
    Put it all back the way it was and check everything works as it did originally (including 2 way switching if there’s another switch point in the room)

    Send a photo then

    It may not be possible to split cabinet lights depending on the way it’s currently wired.

    That's the "before" photo, took it before I did any mucking around! it's already back the way it was, and is working as before.


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  • #7
    alan4cult
    Registered Users Posts: 1,583 ✭✭✭alan4cult


    Switch 4 doesn't look to have anything connected to L1 in the photo you sent, at least I can't see it.

    Edit:
    Sorry I see it.


  • #8
    meercat
    Registered Users Posts: 4,725 ✭✭✭meercat


    spuddy wrote: »
    That's the "before" photo, took it before I did any mucking around! it's already back the way it was, and is working as before.

    Take the bottom grey wire out of 4 and place it in a connector block
    Take 1 wire out of com on 3 and connect it into the bottom of 4(where you removed the original cable)


  • #9
    spuddy
    Registered Users Posts: 775 ✭✭✭spuddy


    alan4cult wrote: »
    Are these all 1 way switches? They look to be anyway

    3 is wired a bit different. The live looks to be going to L1 but it should be going to common. It doesn't make a difference but it would be practice to keep it common.

    Its pretty simple then, they are just basic switches so find the browns that go to the various lights and put them at the L1s where you want them.

    The reason it continued lighting, is because the top (common) is permanent live except for switch 3 which somebody has done it the other way around for some reason.

    Thanks a million for the explanation. They're all 1 way connections. If I follow you, 2 & 3 should be wired together as 1 & 2 are, and each L1 should feed its respective light?

    What I don't quite get is where is the mains coming in, I assumed it was coming into 1-L1 (grey covering), but based on the above it should be coming into 1-Common?

    EDIT: based on what I've understood, I'm pretty sure the mains is coming into 1-Common, the grey covering isn't an indicator of it being the mains.


  • #10
    spuddy
    Registered Users Posts: 775 ✭✭✭spuddy


    meercat wrote: »
    Take the bottom grey wire out of 4 and place it in a connector block
    Take 1 wire out of com on 3 and connect it into the bottom of 4(where you removed the original cable)

    Thank you, can't get clearer than that! 4-L1 then should be connected straight to the kitchen table light. (If I'm not mistaken, if 3. had been wired correctly, there would have been two cables in 3-L1)


  • #11
    alan4cult
    Registered Users Posts: 1,583 ✭✭✭alan4cult


    All the commons should be live and all the lights to L1
    I'm not sure why 3 has the live in L1. I mean it works but it just makes confusion.

    Sometimes L1 is used as live when the L2 won't be used since it's a bit safer as L2 never gets to become live.


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  • #12
    Malcomex
    Closed Accounts Posts: 294 ✭✭Malcomex


    alan4cult wrote: »
    All the commons should be live and all the lights to L1
    I'm not sure why 3 has the live in L1. I mean it works but it just makes confusion.

    Sometimes L1 is used as live when the L2 won't be used since it's a bit safer as L2 never gets to become live.

    That doesn't make any difference tbh from a safety viewpoint, the switch is in an enclosure

    Sometimes it might be handier

    The wiring on 3 did look a bit odd when I glanced at it


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