Remote Light Switch

I forgot to say I think I'm right in saying the circle/cross symbol is lamp? Not that it helps me :)

Sure! Here is the way your lamp was connected and the changes needed:

Blue Neutral .-. Red Switched Black Line Red Switched /-( X )----\ \ | '-' | ---------o o------\ Black Line | | | ---------------)--------\ | | | | | | | | | | | | | ,---. | | | | X | Lamp o------. | | '---' | | | | | | .--)-|-|--------. | | | | | | | | | | o o o o o o | | | | | Blue Neutral | Blue Neutral | | N L 1 2 3 4 | ------------------/ ----------------/ | | | | | | Original Connections | | '---------------'

New Connections

(created by AACircuit v1.28.6 beta 04/19/05

So your red wire goes to terminal 1, Your black wire goes to terminal L, and you need to locate a neutral wire to connect to terminal N.

I think that is correct.

Please work safely. This potentially quite dangerous.

--Winston

--- Yeah.

According to:

if your wiring conforms to pre-2004 IEE, then Line is red and Neutral is black.

I'm not familiar with UK code so, assuming that there is no regulation specifying whether line or neutral may be switched - and red and black appear at the switch - these possibilities exist:

RED BLACK BLACK / / / LINE------[SWITCH]------[LAMP]---+ | NEUTRAL>-------------------------+

RED RED BLACK / / / LINE------[LAMP]-------[SWITCH]--+ | NEUTRAL>-------------------------+

Your IR switch wants to see this:

+---------------------------+ | | | L N 1 2 3 4 | +-+--+----------+-----------+ | | | LINE>-----+ | | | | NEUT>--------+--[LAMP]--+

So, in the case where line is switched it should be wired like this:

+---------------------------+ | | | L N 1 2 3 4 | +-+--+----------+-----------+ ON | | | LINE>--[SWITCH]---+ | | | | NEUT>----------------+--[LAMP]--+

And when neutral is switched, like this:

+---------------------------+ | | | L N 1 2 3 4 | +-+--+----------+-----------+ | | | LINE>-------------+ | | ON | | NEUT>--[SWITCH]------+--[LAMP]--+

Note that the IR switch must be located in the vicinity of the lamp wiring in order to use only the existing wiring.

-- JF

Standard UK lighting circuit ============================

Lighting circuit looped through ceiling

L Red L Red ------------. .------------------ From supply \ / To other lamps --------------\---------/--- -------- N Black \ / \ / N Black \-----/------\-----/ |\ / \ /| | \ / .-. \ / | | o o-( X )-o | | | | '-' | | | | | '--|----|----------' | | Ceiling rose or fitting L Red| | | |L1 Black taped Red .---|----|---------. | | | | | | | | | | |L2 | | | o /o | | | / | | | / | | '----' | '------------------' Light Switch (created by AACircuit v1.28.6 beta 04/19/05

Notes: All colours pre-2005. All back boxes should be earthed. The earth wire (not shown) may ONLY be used for earthing.

To get a Neutral at the existing switch wallbox, the drop from the lamp must be replaced with four wire cable. This job may only be performed by a so-called competent person, will require certification, and *MAY* be statutorily notifiable under the Building Regulations *BEFORE* commencement.

Call a licenced electrician! The certification inspection is pretty much a closed shop and if you try to DIY the inspection costs will probably be higher. All the cable colour codes were changed when the law changed and you cant buy old coloured cable so even if you were willing to break the law, there is no chance of sliding it by uninspected as it is likely to be caught at your next inspection required by your insurance company.

--
Ian Malcolm.   London, ENGLAND.  (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & >32K emails --> NUL:

Thank you very much for all the replies! Clearly now I'll need to get a pro' in to deal with things, but it's good to see it in those diagrams. Much appreciated.

There are two wires (plus ground) in AC wiring; one is N (for neutral) the other is L (for line). The box diagram indicates that it switches a device, indicated by the circle-X. The diagram clearly indicates that the device REQUIRES NEUTRAL AND LINE connections, in addition to the switched wire. That means it cannot replace a two-wire-and-ground simple switch (the switch connects between L and switched-L, but needs no N wire).