QUIET pull-cord switch for bathroom

[Spark123]

umm ok, where should I attach the other cable?
And should I attach the earth?

Which other cable? How many cables do you have in the switch at present, what colour wires? How are these connected to the existing switch? You must attach the earth to the earth terminal.

 

[waterox]

I wrote it earlier in the thread,

I have red, black and yellow/green from the ceiling, which are currently connected to an old pull-cord.

The current switch has 2 terminals plus earth, the new one has 4.

The manual says:

Make connections to the electrical supply in accordance with the following code:
Live - Brown or Red to the L IN
Neutral - Blue or Black ( if required ) to the N IN
> Make connections to your light fitting as follows:
LOAD— fitting live connector
N LOAD— fitting neutral connector ( if required )

Does this mean attach mains as well as light fitting?

As I said earlier I dont want to rip holes in my ceiling looking for mains cabling. If it can be wired from lighting circuit alone then can you tell me what connections to make?

If it cant I need a QUIET 2-way switch.

 

[fireman22]

waterox, just wire it red to L in and black to Load if there is an earth terminal put earth there otherwise put it onto a connector block.
if it doesnt work just swop red and black

 

[Spark123]

I agree with fireman, but don't forget to sleeve the black wire red. As you have an earth terminal connect the earth to that and link to the backbox if required. I thought I read your earlier posts as if you only had one twin+earth cable but then you asked "umm ok, where should I attach the other cable?". This made me think hold on a minute, what other cable, how many cables now????

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The manual says:

Make connections to the electrical supply in accordance with the following code:
Live - Brown or Red to the L IN
Neutral - Blue or Black ( if required ) to the N IN
> Make connections to your light fitting as follows:
LOAD— fitting live connector
N LOAD— fitting neutral connector ( if required )

And as I pointed out it also says:

Note: The neutral terminals are provided for convenience of connection, a neutral connection is not required for operation of the switch.

Does this mean attach mains as well as light fitting?

No it means you must call an electrician.

If you cannot understand the perfectly plain instructions in the manual then you must not attempt to fit this switch yourself.

 

[waterox]

well I know enough to ask for advice when I dont know something

Thanks, it actually works now wired either way around but it BUZZES (either way around). I cant believe I bought the damn thing to get rid of a noisy switch and it makes a new different annoying sound!

For those of us (musicians) that appreciate silence (especially the absence of electrical hums and buzz) surely there must be a pull-cord switch that is actually silent??

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Unless you have a small child or other type of daemon who delights in standing there repeatedly turning the light on and off, surely the click from a normal switch can't be too bad?

A couple of other suggestions - where is the switch attached? If it is direct to the ceiling then that might be acting as a sounding board (to say nothing of the switch being likely to come down). If this is the case, move it so that the mounting screws go through into a joist.

Another option, one that I adopted (for reasons of appearance, not noise) is to have the switch above the ceiling with the cord coming down through a hole, tidied up with a blanking plate and some kind of bush. I used to have a photo of mine - if I can find it I'll post it.

 

[waterox]

It is attached to the ceiling but seems sturdy enough.

My bedroom is above the bathroom, so yes the sound was being amplified through my wooden floor, and this a flatshare.. so sometimes in the middle of the night I would get a loud pee-yong!!! sound from below. Its silent now so that was my objective, sorted.

The buzzing isnt too bad actually. If I really want a mellow bath I will use candles anyway!

Thanks for all the help on this post everyone. This was my first electrical DIY experience hence the stupid questions. Anyway I know enough to be safe!!

 

[gregbbb]

Sorry to re-activate this thread after such a long time but I have exactly the same problem as waterox.

waterox, where did you get your dimmer pull switch from?

If anyone has any recommendations for a quiet pull switch that would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[waterox]

I got it from screwfix if I recall correctly.
However, this is crappy technology. It buzzes audibly in the room. I am a musician, and whenever the bathroom light is on, my amp picks up the noise..
You would think its a simple thing to make, but probably like so many things these days it will be better if you make it yourself! I would have preferred no dimmer switch, but theyre the only silent ones. Go figure!!!

 

[gregbbb]

I got it from screwfix if I recall correctly.
However, this is rubbishy technology. It buzzes audibly in the room. I am a musician, and whenever the bathroom light is on, my amp picks up the noise..
You would think its a simple thing to make, but probably like so many things these days it will be better if you make it yourself! I would have preferred no dimmer switch, but theyre the only silent ones. Go figure!!!

This one?......

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=30968

 

[mo2]

Crafty, is your dimmer a one-off or something? It would be nice not to hear "yee-pong" while sleeping because someone needs the toilet on the other side of the house.

 

[Steve]

Crafty, is your dimmer a one-off or something? It would be nice not to hear "yee-pong" while sleeping because someone needs the toilet on the other side of the house.

Its a standard pullswitch. If I could get at it, i'd take it down and tell you what brand it is, but someone's put a false ceiling in, and drilled a tiny hole for the string. No it wasnt me.

You have to pull quite hard compared to certain other pullswitches, but its a very quiet click, a single click for each pull. Bear in mind its about 15 years old (when the house was rewired) but it has always worked like this.

I appreciate what other posters are saying about the ping pong of standard switches - we have a load of pullswitches at work, and they are very loud, even on a concrete ceiling, so I can understand they must be deafening at night in a quiet house, not a creature stirring!

 

[gregbbb]

I ended up buying one of those slient ones shown on Screwfix (found it cheaper on ebay tho). Fitted it no problems and it is near enough silent and does the job perfectly. No buzzing from mine.

If you're looking for a silent pull cord switch (as I did for months) then this is perfect. The dimmer part is also useful first thing in the morning.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=30968&ts=57166