FN-FORUM: OT any electricians?

date posted 25th January 2004 15:55

I just spent three hours in the cold putting up a security light and now
have no idea how to connect it to the light switch.

Background:

when we had our kitchen remodelled/wired I got the electrician to put in
an extra light switch by the back door.

It's a 3 way switch - the kitchen light (secondary switch point) an
exterior side light and a spare wire switch for my security light.

the security light has LNE connections.

the switch has L1 L2 and COM (three times - 1 for each switch)

There are three cables coming in - 1 is my LNE the other two are four wire
cables Red Blue Yellow and Earth.

1 of the 4 wire cables has a spare Blue wire, which seems to be a live or
a neutral (depending on which two wires I stick my trusty Voltmeter on)
the spare wire and a switched wire show 240v.

So how do I connect my LNE into this muddle?

Assuming that I should be switching on neutral? then I could connect the
live to the spare blue? and the neutral to the L1. would it be safe then
to bridge between two of the COM terminals? E obviously goes into the box
connector with the others.

The only thing that worries me is that this switch is fed from two
different trips on the consumer board - a hazard I only discovered when
showing GF that it *was* all switched off -

me: "of course I switched it of at the mains - look - " click click click

GF "oh yeah?, why has the outside light come on then....."

Anyone want to hazard a guess or should I track down the original
electrician and hope he remembers what he did....

TIA

Tony