Pull switch 2w - for extractor and light - 5 red wires??

[electricpipe]

I have a bathroom pull cord and the extractor and light no longer work...

strangely when I opened the ceiling rose the wires were not attached to the switch but appeared to have been sat in the switch...

More of a problem is that all 5 wires are all RED in colour

The set up should be when the cord is pulled the extractor and light come on

I have purchased a new pull switch but need advice re the 5 red wires and also which would go in the L1 , L2 and COMM

 

[sparkwright]

Firstly, were the wires arranged in the back box as your picture shows? Or have you arranged them like that?

A switch with terminals com, L1 and L2 is a 2 way switch. A 2 way switch can be used for 1 way switching. I cannot imagine a need for a 2 way switch in a bathroom for a light and fan.

Unless your bathroom happens to have two entrances, and there is another switch??

Based on what you have told us so far it would seem logical that the wire to the light and the wire to the fan goes in L1. The other three wires in COM.

Has the fan got a timed overun? If so, it will have two lives - one permanent live and one switched live.

 

[EFLImpudence]

More likely a double pole switch.

 

[StelleElectrical]

What I think they could be is feed in,feed out and feed to the fan which connects into C,the other two would be switch wire for the light and switch wire fir the fan which connects into L1

 

[electricpipe]

Firstly, were the wires arranged in the back box as your picture shows? Or have you arranged them like that?

A switch with terminals com, L1 and L2 is a 2 way switch. A 2 way switch can be used for 1 way switching. I cannot imagine a need for a 2 way switch in a bathroom for a light and fan.

Unless your bathroom happens to have two entrances, and there is another switch??

Based on what you have told us so far it would seem logical that the wire to the light and the wire to the fan goes in L1. The other three wires in COM.

Has the fan got a timed overun? If so, it will have two lives - one permanent live and one switched live.

They are in the general vicinity of when I took the cover off - but strangely they were not attached to the switch - as I took the cover off - the wires were free.....

Interesting point re 2 way switching as in the image below - for the original pull switch - it appears that one of the terminals is empty (no connection)



I believe the fan had a timer overrun....(sorry it is a tenanted property)....


So why are all the wires red and if the fan has an overrun how would it change which wire I put in L1/L2 COM etc
thanks for the prompt helpful answers

 

[sparkwright]

That is a 1 way switch. It has two terminals.

There should be some earth wires and neutral wires somewhere, probably above the pull switch back box. These should be in some kind of enclosure. Assuming this is not a conduit system.

 

[EFLImpudence]

So, just a one way switch.

Some testing will be needed to determine which wire is which.

Do you have a meter of any kind?

 

[sparkwright]

While I don't recommend the guess and see approach, if you haven't moved those wires I think it's fairly clear which wires went in one end of the switch, and which wires went in the other end.

 

[electricpipe]

So, just a one way switch.

Some testing will be needed to determine which wire is which.

Do you have a meter of any kind?

I have a multimeter (still in packet never used )

 

[electricpipe]

While I don't recommend the guess and see approach, if you haven't moved those wires I think it's fairly clear which wires went in one end of the switch, and which wires went in the other end.

It appeared that two went into COMM and two into the L1 but there was a wire that was a little further away..... pretty frustrating as I was surprised that the wires were not attached to the switch....

 

[electricpipe]

I have a replacement 2W switch - I assume I can ignore L2 and still use this rather than having to return to the shop and exchange for a 1W switch?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

<withdrawn>

Too late, sadly.

 

[electricpipe]

I have a bathroom pull cord and the extractor and light no longer work...

So they did both work until fairly recently, when all of a sudden with no prompting the screws in the switch terminals loosened and they stopped working?

I have purchased a new pull switch but need advice re the 5 red wires and also which would go in the L1 , L2 and COMM

Looking at the two photos, it appears as if the two halves were this way round:


in which case the wire on its own wasn't connected to anything, so put a piece of choc-block on it and tuck it out of the way.

With the two pairs put one in C and the other in L1 or L2 - doesn't matter which.

The tenant contacted me to say that the switch was no longer clicking and the light and extractor were no longer working....so I popped over and with a bit of Wd40 the switch now clicks but when I placed the wires into the terminals the light now works but the extractor does not.......

 

[RF Lighting]

I would imagine that all the wires were connected.

Feed in, feed, out and fan permanant live at the left of the photo, and switched live to the light and fan on the right.

There's an easy way to suss it but unfortunately it's far too dangerous to tell you.

 

[RF Lighting]

Just seen your reply. As this is a rented property, you need to call an electrician to sort it for you.