Replacing a three gang switch with a two gang

[bristolmarkt]

Hi,

Simple question but afraid I don't know the answer

I currently have an external three gang light switch and want to replace it with a two gang by combining two of the three lights onto one switch

Is this as simply as combining the two lives of these lights into one live socket and combining the two neutrals in the neutral socket?

Thanks

Mark

 

[Chri5]

Are the lights you want to combine on the same fuse circuit ?

 

[bristolmarkt]

yep - these are external lights so they all go through the same external fuse box

 

[Chri5]

Is this as simply as combining the two lives of these lights into one live socket and combining the two neutrals in the neutral socket?

Mark

It would be better to remove the switch wiring for 1 x light and then add the light on that switch in to the other light wiring (via a LNE from 1 light to the next).

As a DIY job the wires can simply be put together and occupy the same switch Com and L1.

Not sure why you mention sockets above, assumption is that you mean switch terminals

 

[bristolmarkt]

Thanks - you are right, I was reffering to the switch terminals

Just for the sake of clarity (for a non-DIY specialist with some basic experience of replacing light switches) - I can simply match up the two sets of lives/neutrals and place them into one switch?

 

[aptsys]

An alternative might be to make up a grid switch of one single pole switch and one double pole switch which would maintain separation of the two you wish to switch together.

 

[rebuke]

I doubt you actually mean neutral, i'm assuming you are referring to the red and black wires at the switch - one will be the live, one the switched live.

While best practice would be to remove the redundant switch wire, if you are absolutely certain they are all on the same circuit, then you can just connect the two lives in one terminal, and the two switch lives in the other. Do not do this if they are different circuits however, as otherwise you will have bridged two circuits together, so neither protective device will see all the fault current in the event of a fault...

 

[bristolmarkt]

Thanks

Now if the external light switch is positioned directly above an external fuse box, can I assume that they are on the same circuit?

Is there anyway to check?

Slightly confusing thing with all of this is that the external lights are all wired into the mains circuit (when I take go to the house fuse box and take out the 5amp fuse for the lights, the external lights stay on. They only come off when I take out the mains 30 amp house fuses)

 

[rebuke]

What do you mean by external fuse box - can you take a picture?

If they all go out when you turn off the ring main circuit, then they're all on the same circuit. It sounds like what's happened is someone has put in an FCU (fused connection unit) to take power for the lights from the ring circuit, which is perfectly fine (as long as they have definitely put in an FCU, and not just wired them straight off the ring)...

 

[bristolmarkt]

I think you have hit the nail on the head

the "fuse box" as I called it is a small external box wired directly to the mains - probably about the same size as the light switch, with a small fused shaped hatch on the front (never openbed it up to see the actual fuse inside)

The mains goes into this, and then a wire runs two feet up from this into the three gang light switch

i'll double check tonight to make sure they are on the same circuit but it looks like I can simply just combine the wires into a new two gang light switch (this wouldn't be a problem if I could buy an external three gang switch, but I can only ever find two gang external switches)