Help with Kitchen Lights Please - Urgent - DOING MY HEAD IN

[ajr3773]

Hi all.

I have 2 lights in my kitchen and 2 switches (1 double switch & 1 single)

The single switch powers one light and the double switch powers both.

Im replacing both switches with dimmers switches. 1 x 2 way switch and 1 x 1 way switch.

The problem i have, is that i have the exact same number of wires in each switch.

2 Cables in each switch:

1 cable in each consisting of a black, brown, grey and earth wire and another cable consisting of 2 brown and an earth. (Do both brown wires do the same thing)

Can somebody tell me how i wire both my 2 way dimmer and 1 way dimmer switch with this setup of wires at both switches.

My 2 way dimmer has C, L1 & L,2 then another bank of C, L1 & L2
My 1 way dimmer has only C, L1 & L2.

 

[Maxsys]

If what you have now works, just copy it into the dimmer switches, pictures of the existing switch wiring might help.

 

[ajr3773]

It did work until someone disconnected both switches and now im just left with wires.

 

[Taylortwocities]

It did work until someone disconnected both switches and now im just left with wires.

Easy. Get whoever disconnected the switches to put the wires back so it works.
Then
Come back an say what wires go to which terminations
Then
We can tell you how to fit the dimmer.

There's many ways of wiring up lights.
Do you something like a multimeter? Not a neon screwdriver!

 

[ajr3773]

Its not possible to connect them back up to the old switches.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Then you have 2 choices.

1) Buy a multimeter if you don't have one, learn how to use it, learn how lighting circuits, 2-way switching etc work (you'll find a great deal of useful info here: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:lighting), identify which cables go where and do what, and install the new switches*.

or

2) Get an electrician in.

* By the way - you can't use 2 ordinary dimmers in a 2-way arrangement, it just won't work. You can get master-slave dimmers which will allow you to have dimming and switching control from more than one place, but from your description you haven't bought that sort.

 

[Steve]

It sounds like two switches control one light here? If so, only one of those switches can be a dimmer.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Yes - his use of "way" is misleading.

I imagine that

I have 2 lights in my kitchen and 2 switches (1 double switch & 1 single)

The single switch powers one light and the double switch powers both.

means that he's got 2 2-way switches, one a single gang and the other a 2-gang.

Certainly his description of the terminals on the dimmers

My 1 way dimmer has only C, L1 & L2.

is not right for a 1-way.