How to wire a replacement 2-way light switch (Ed.)
- Thread starter Jugador
- Start date
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Look at your original light switch and you can see it is two triangles. But with both COM's at the top.
Your new light switch is also two triangles, but one triangle is upside-down to the the other.
One triangle with its COM at the top and one triangle with its COM at the bottom.
So you need to transpose the wires in the two triangles from the original switch to the new switch,
(with new switch having one of its triangles upside down).
So from the original light switch move the wires that are in 'COM left' and 'COM right', to COM1 and COM2.
And move the two sets of wires in the two 'bottom left' holes, to L11 and L12 (it does not matter which is in which).
And move the two sets of wires in the two 'bottom right' holes, to L21 and L22 (it does not matter which is in which).
Left Switch:
'COM left' =to= COM1
'bottom left' holes =to= L11 and L12
Right Switch:
'COM right' =to= COM2
'bottom right' holes =to= L21 and L22
SFK
Your new light switch is also two triangles, but one triangle is upside-down to the the other.
One triangle with its COM at the top and one triangle with its COM at the bottom.
So you need to transpose the wires in the two triangles from the original switch to the new switch,
(with new switch having one of its triangles upside down).
So from the original light switch move the wires that are in 'COM left' and 'COM right', to COM1 and COM2.
And move the two sets of wires in the two 'bottom left' holes, to L11 and L12 (it does not matter which is in which).
And move the two sets of wires in the two 'bottom right' holes, to L21 and L22 (it does not matter which is in which).
Left Switch:
'COM left' =to= COM1
'bottom left' holes =to= L11 and L12
Right Switch:
'COM right' =to= COM2
'bottom right' holes =to= L21 and L22
SFK
Last edited:
Jugador
Thanks for the update, and great to hear.
If you feel that either of the switches are now operating upside down (some people like to have the top of the switch pushed in for off (or vice versa)), the solution to reverse the switch on/off position is to:-
Leave the wires untouched in COM and swap the wires over at the bottom of a triangle:
in your case swap wires in L11 with the wires in L12 or swap wires in L21 with the wires in L22.
SFK
Thanks for the update, and great to hear.
If you feel that either of the switches are now operating upside down (some people like to have the top of the switch pushed in for off (or vice versa)), the solution to reverse the switch on/off position is to:-
Leave the wires untouched in COM and swap the wires over at the bottom of a triangle:
in your case swap wires in L11 with the wires in L12 or swap wires in L21 with the wires in L22.
SFK
Last edited:
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Dam I missed something important..
Now on bigger screen and can see it is a metal faceplate on the new switch.
I think I can see ground wires connected to the metal back box. You need to coo ect those wires to the ground connection on the faceplate. (Or if you have some a short length of ground wire from the metal back box to the socket).
This is because metal switches and faceplate need to be directly connected to the ground wire (and not just through the faceplate screws).
Now on bigger screen and can see it is a metal faceplate on the new switch.
I think I can see ground wires connected to the metal back box. You need to coo ect those wires to the ground connection on the faceplate. (Or if you have some a short length of ground wire from the metal back box to the socket).
This is because metal switches and faceplate need to be directly connected to the ground wire (and not just through the faceplate screws).
Last edited:
From?? I have removed the earth wires from the back box and attached to the plate, if that’s it?
(sorry -uploaded half way through typing).
Perfect. That is exactly correct.
Perfect. That is exactly correct.
Ok I had already done that, thanks.
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