changing old light switch for dimmer help.

[DIYsupreme]

Ok this is my first post on here and im new today.

Basically I moved in to my home in november 2011 and we finally got to a stage where we can start doing things to the home.

We had a baby in nov 2012 and I today I decided to fit a dimmer in our little girls room so as not to wake her with bright light when its time for a bum change in the middle of the night.
Ive changed plug sockets around the home and my parents home since I was young mainly first by copying how it was originally wired up and now by the same way but using more common sence. But this light switch has really baffled me (The house is a vic hallam and was built in the 60s) normally im use to red and black wires but this had 3 red wires, 2 of which were wound together and 2 black wires which were bound together with a yellow rubber plug thing (kind of like a thimble you use when sewing).
The 2 bound red wires and single red wire were wired into the light switch.
The switch its self had no visible markings to follow so I decided to use my judgement and wired up the dimmer the only way I could see. The dimmer had 3 holes L1, L2 and com. The com had no ability to connect anything leaving me with L1 and L2 so I wired it up with my red wires and turned the mains box back on and the light seems to work fine. There is a slight buzz coming from the dimmer but I remember my old one in parent house doing the same thing.

So basically after my essay have I done it right and if not what do I do?

I have seen simler posts on here but they havent helped me in my particular case.

Thanks in advance.
Ry

 

[Spark123]

The yellow thing sounds like a wire nut, you don't tend to get them nowadays and would be a good idea imo to replace with a piece of terminal block.
If the dimmer is metal with an earth terminal then it needs to be earthed.
Apart from that there is little more to do.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Ok this is my first post on here and im new today.

Well may I welcome you then?

We had a baby in nov 2012

Belated congratulation, hope both baby and mother are healthy and well.


What load is on the circuit (lamp wattage) and what is the rating of the dimmer?
Is there and earth connection this would be required on metallic switches that are not double insulated.

 

[DIYsupreme]

Ok this is my first post on here and im new today.

Well may I welcome you then?

We had a baby in nov 2012

Belated congratulation, hope both baby and mother are healthy and well.


What load is on the circuit (lamp wattage) and what is the rating of the dimmer?
Is there and earth connection this would be required on metallic switches that are not double insulated.

Thank you we are all great.

When you say the load on the circuit do you mean the bulb?

How will I know the rating?

Al I can say for now is that yes there is an earth connected to the metal plate in the wall and the dimmer is a status 1 gang 1 way (250w) dimmer switch 40 - 250w 220v - 250v

Ry

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

When you say the load on the circuit do you mean the bulb?

The term used is lamp (AKA bulb) and I mean the ones that the dimmer switch is operating.

How will I know the rating?

You check the lamps/bulbs for wattge rating, it should be printed on them and add that up for you total load.
For example if you have 6 lamps/bulbs at 50W then you have a load of 300W.

the dimmer is a status 1 gang 1 way (250w) dimmer switch 40 - 250w 220v - 250v

So using the example above 300W total you will see that your dimmer is only suitable for a load of 250W Max.
The load of the dimmer needs to be rated suitably to that of the lights, for both low and high ratings.

 

[DIYsupreme]

The yellow thing sounds like a wire nut, you don't tend to get them nowadays and would be a good idea imo to replace with a piece of terminal block.
If the dimmer is metal with an earth terminal then it needs to be earthed.
Apart from that there is little more to do.

The dimmer is plastic but has a metal plate in the wall which is earthed.

Its is and old house and does need updating the fuse box for example still takes the chunky and thin fuses that you slide inside a plastic holder but thats one of many things to be updated.

Its the red wires im confused about the black ones have the wire nut and the earth is attached to the plate but the red wire are connected to the switch...well the dimmer now and like I said it seems to work fine. But I wanna know if it was wired wrong would it still work and cause problems or would it not work at all.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

The dimmer is plastic but has a metal plate in the wall which is earthed.

That should be okay

Its is and old house and does need updating the fuse box for example still takes the chunky and thin fuses that you slide inside a plastic holder but thats one of many things to be updated.

There is no requirement to update, unless it is unsafe for continued service.

Its the red wires im confused about the black ones have the wire nut and the earth is attached to the plate but the red wire are connected to the switch...well the dimmer now and like I said it seems to work fine. But I wanna know if it was wired wrong would it still work and cause problems or would it not work at all.

What you have is a loop at the switch plate for live and neutral.
The pair of reds twisted together are the live loop, the pair of blacks are the neutral loop. The spare red is your switch live.
If it was not connected correctly, it would/should not function.
Some dimmers do buzz a little, you can get silent ones, but you also need to check the load as previous post suggested by me.

 

[mikeyd]

It sounds fine to me. Have a read through this //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:lighting:single_way_lighting
What you have is probably similar to this:

 

[DIYsupreme]

When you say the load on the circuit do you mean the bulb?

The term used is lamp (AKA bulb) and I mean the ones that the dimmer switch is operating.

How will I know the rating?

You check the lamps/bulbs for wattge rating, it should be printed on them and add that up for you total load.
For example if you have 6 lamps/bulbs at 50W then you have a load of 300W.

the dimmer is a status 1 gang 1 way (250w) dimmer switch 40 - 250w 220v - 250v

So using the example above 300W total you will see that your dimmer is only suitable for a load of 250W Max.
The load of the dimmer needs to be rated suitably to that of the lights, for both low and high ratings.

I see well its just the one bulb and its 60w 240v
So going on that I would assume the dimmer is suitable.

But what about the wires? Thats my main concern.

 

[DIYsupreme]

It sounds fine to me. Have a read through this //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:lighting:single_way_lighting
What you have is probably similar to this:

That looks about the same apart from that the common appears to be unusable on mine and the only slots that I could use were L1 and L2 so I used them and the light comes on.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

What make of dimmer is it?

 

[DIYsupreme]

What you have is a loop at the switch plate for live and neutral.
The pair of reds twisted together are the live loop, the pair of blacks are the neutral loop. The spare red is your switch live.
If it was not connected correctly, it would/should not function.
Some dimmers do buzz a little, you can get silent ones, but you also need to check the load as previous post suggested by me.

Ahhh I see that puts my mind at rest now thank you for your help.

 

[DIYsupreme]

What make of dimmer is it?

Its a status dimmer £5 from ASDA I wrote alittle more info on it on one of my posts above.