2 x 2 gang 2 way switches for 2 lights

[haphazarduk]

Someone else had this problem and was pointed in the direction of the sticky but I couldn't find the anwser there.

I have two lights (top and bottom of stairs) and want to run them off two, 2 gang, 2 way switches. Orginally there was on of these at the bottom of the stairs and a 1 gang at the top. I have repaced the 1 gang with a 2 gang but am struggling to find the correct wiring.

There are great diagrams for 1 gang 2 way but not 2 gang 2 way.

Can anybody point me in the right direction or explain to me in really simple terms?

 

[pdcelec]

A 2 gang is wired the same as a 1 gang but there is an extra gang
i.e 2 - 1 = 1

The second gang is wired the same as the first gang i.e 1 + 1 =2

Is this simple enough?

 

[dingbat]

Are you saying that you want to be able to control both the hall light and the landing light from both switch positions? If so, tough. You can't do it without installing extra cables.

Just remember to turn off the hall light before you climb the stairs. Like everybody else does.

 

[haphazarduk]

OK, if its that hard I guess I can leave it. Both switches have a power supply and the three core housecircuit running to them. Is it still tough?

 

[dingbat]

OK, if its that hard I guess I can leave it. Both switches have a power supply and the three core housecircuit running to them. Is it still tough?

By 'three core housecircuit' I'm assuming you mean two insulated cores and an uninsulated earth? (twin & earth) If all the insulated cores are connected to switch terminals then they are all live, regardless of their colour. In any case, you need to connect between the switches at either end in order to be able to switch from both positions.

For normal one-way switching there will simply be a switch cable between the light and the switch that controls it. For two-way switching there will be additional conductors that connect one switch to the other. There are several different methods of wiring for 2-way, but if the original intention was to have both lights controlled from two positions it begs the question, why was the intention not realised?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Both switches have a power supply and the three core housecircuit running to them.

Don't know what you mean by that. Is your lighting circuit looped at the switches or the ceiling fittings?

Probably the 2-gang downstairs would have had the switch cable for the downstairs light, and a twin & earth or 3-core + earth cable running to the single gang switch on the landing. If you have 2 lighting circuits in your house, is the landing light unusual in that it is on the downstairs circuit?

Anyway - whatever - to do what you want you'll need to run a new 3-core + earth cable between the hall light gang of the downstairs switch and the second gang of the upstairs switch, just like the top two switches in this diagram in the For Reference section, except in your case the bottom switch has the circuit cable.

Whether you will find this tough to do, I have not got the faintest idea...

 

[slippyr4]

i.e 2 - 1 = 1